FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

* Israel will continue to offer a fourth vaccine shot despite preliminary findings that it is not enough to prevent Omicron infections, the Health Ministry said. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * COVID-19 vaccines made using mRNA technology do not cause pregnancy complications for expectant mothers and their babies, the European Union's drug regulator said. * Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said they had signed an agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund to supply up to 3 million courses of their antiviral pill.

There is no evidence at present that healthy children and adolescents need booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine, the World Health Organization's chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said. 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

* The European Union drugs regulator said pharmaceutical companies should work on more than one upgraded COVID-19 shot, not only tailored to the fast-emerging Omicron variant but also versions that address a combination of variants. * France has registered 464,769 new COVID-19 infections over the last 24 hours, official data showed on Tuesday, the highest ever-recorded tally since the start of the pandemic.

ASIA-PACIFIC * The United Nations is preparing for distanced relief operations in Tonga to avoid a COVID-19 outbreak in the Pacific island nation that is reeling under the impact of a volcanic eruption and tsunami, an official said.

* China is urging people to wear masks and gloves when opening mail after authorities suggested the first case of the Omicron variant found in Beijing could have arrived via a package from Canada. * Hong Kong warned people not to kiss pets and ordered a mass cull of hamsters, to the outrage of animal-lovers, after 11 of the rodents tested positive for COVID-19.

AMERICAS * The U.S. government's new COVIDTests.gov website, set up for American households to order four free COVID-19 tests amid the Omicron variant surge, is up and running ahead of its official launch on Wednesday, the White House said.

* The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised against travel to 22 nations and territories because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases, including Israel, Australia, Egypt, Albania, Argentina and Uruguay. AFRICA AND MIDDLE EAST

* Namibia's pandemic-ravaged tourism sector launched a campaign to encourage its employees to get inoculated as vaccine hesitancy threatens to derail the sector's revival. * Israel will continue to offer a fourth vaccine shot despite preliminary findings that it is not enough to prevent Omicron infections, the Health Ministry said.

MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS * COVID-19 vaccines made using mRNA technology do not cause pregnancy complications for expectant mothers and their babies, the European Union's drug regulator said.

* Merck and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said they had signed an agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund to supply up to 3 million courses of their antiviral pill. ECONOMIC IMPACT

* Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields jumped to two-year highs and equity markets tumbled on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq falling more than 2%, as traders braced for the Federal Reserve to tackle fast-rising inflation by tightening monetary policy. * The world tourism industry barely improved last year, with all indicators staying way below pre-pandemic levels and industry professionals not expecting a full recovery before 2024, the World Tourism Organization said.

(Compiled by Juliette Portala, Marta Frackowiak and Vinay Dwivedi; Edited by Milla Nissi, Alison Williams and Sriraj Kalluvila)

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)