FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* France's health authority is recommending a third COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for health workers, it said in a statement. * Italy reported 39 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 50 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 3,235 from 2,466.

The number of new COVID-19 infections has been dropping over the past month throughout the Americas, even though only 37% of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean are fully vaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization said on Wednesday. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

* Eikon users, see COVID-19: MacroVitals https://apac1.apps.cp.thomsonreuters.com/cms/?navid=1592404098 for a case tracker and summary of news EUROPE

* Sweden and Denmark said on Wednesday they are pausing the use of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for younger age groups after reports of possible rare cardiovascular side effects. * The European Union's public health agency is proposing a revision of COVID-19 rules which could ease travel for vaccinated people and drop a colour-coded system that limits trips to and from areas with high levels of infections.

* Britain dropped its advice against all but essential travel for 32 countries and territories on Wednesday. * France's health authority is recommending a third COVID-19 vaccine booster shot for health workers, it said in a statement.

* Italy reported 39 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday against 50 the day before, the health ministry said, while the daily tally of new infections rose to 3,235 from 2,466. * Britain has reported 39,851 new cases of COVID-19, government data showed on Wednesday, meaning cases reported between Sept. 30 and Oct. 6 were down by 2% compared with the previous seven days.

AMERICAS * Canada will place unvaccinated federal employees on unpaid leave and require COVID-19 shots for air, train and ship passengers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, as he unveiled one of the world's strictest vaccine mandate policies.

* Brazil has lifted a restriction that blocked people coming from the United Kingdom, South Africa and India from entering the country due to the pandemic. * Pfizer will study the effectiveness of its vaccine against COVID-19 by inoculating the entire population over the age of 12 in a town in southern Brazil, the company said. The study will be conducted in Toledo, population 143,000, in the west of Parana state.

* Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the IMF has not yet delivered funds under a program to help countries battle the pandemic, amid a dispute over the government's legitimacy. ASIA-PACIFIC

* Singapore's health ministry reported 3,577 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic, while it recorded three new deaths from the disease. * India's school closures and its children's lack of smartphone and internet facilities during the pandemic have worsened an educational divide, the U.N. cultural agency said, flagging risks to young people's futures.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Sudan on Wednesday received more than 500,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer, the first batch of a U.S. donation of 1.27 million doses through the COVAX facility, UNICEF said in a statement.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * Bharat Biotech said it had submitted data from its COVID-19 vaccine trial in children ages 2 to 18 years to India's drug regulator, becoming the country's first company to have tested its shot in very young children.

* AstraZeneca has requested emergency approval from U.S. regulators for its antibody cocktail, another potential major step in the global fight to combat the virus. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* U.S. private payrolls increased more than expected in September as COVID-19 infections started subsiding, boosting hiring at restaurants and other high-contact businesses. * Global equity markets slid and the dollar rose on Wednesday after a strong private payrolls report and surging energy prices fuelled the inflation outlook and expectations the Federal Reserve will soon taper its massive bond purchases.

(Compiled by Anita Kobylinska, Ramakrishnan M and Shailesh Kuber; Edited by Bill Berkrot and Shounak Dasgupta)