FACTBOX-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

White House officials said Johnson & Johnson has only a few million COVID-19 vaccine doses in stock even as likely U.S. approval nears, while EU officials said Pfizer's vaccine supply to the bloc was about 10 million doses short of plan.

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 * England's third national lockdown is helping to reduce infections, a study found, but the prevalence of cases remains high as PM Boris Johnson eyes a cautious route to re-opening the economy.

* Switzerland plans a cautious easing of its lockdown from March, while Spain will make quarantine obligatory for travelers from South Africa and Brazil. * Slovakia will ask other EU member countries for medical staff to help with the surge in cases.

* The Dutch government raced to prepare legislation to keep a nighttime curfew in place after a court-ordered it to scrap the controversial measure. AMERICAS

* Countries participating in the COVAX vaccine distribution mechanism will soon receive confirmation of their first shipments, the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said. * Venezuela will begin vaccinating medical personnel on Thursday.

ASIA-PACIFIC * Nepal approved the emergency use of a vaccine developed by an affiliate of China's Sinopharm.

* India will make COVID-19 molecular tests mandatory for people arriving directly or indirectly from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil. * Nearly two-thirds of Japanese firms oppose holding the Tokyo Olympics as planned, a Reuters monthly poll found.

MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA * Turkey will begin a gradual return to normal life on a province-by-province basis from March, while nationwide weekend lockdowns would be lifted in some provinces based on infection rates.

* Namibia will roll out AstraZeneca's vaccine despite efficacy concerns. MEDICAL DEVELOPMENTS

* The COVID-19 vaccine developed by China's Sinovac Biotech is effective against the UK and South African variants, the vaccine's Brazilian partner said. * Researchers urged governments to delay administering the second dose of Pfizer vaccine, which they said had an efficacy of 92.6% after the first dose.

* The coronavirus variant first identified in the UK does not cause more severe disease in children than variants circulating earlier in 2020, new data suggested. * Britain became the first country to give the go-ahead for human challenge trials in which volunteers will be deliberately exposed to COVID-19.

ECONOMIC IMPACT * The pandemic led to a U.S. housing boom and reduced credit card debt, according to a report by the New York Federal Reserve.

* Asian stocks fell as investors locked in profits on sectors that have outperformed recently in a sign of growing caution about the recent rally in global equities. * U.S. retail sales rebounded sharply in January after households received additional pandemic relief money from the government.

* Australian employment rose for a fourth straight month in January and the jobless rate fell by more than expected. 

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