US Operation Warp Speed chief resigns - reports Operation Warp Speed Chief Adviser Dr. Moncef Slaoui has resigned at the request of the incoming Biden team, in a plan that would see him stay in the role for a month to help with the transition, CNBC reported on Tuesday. The chief adviser for the US Covid-19 vaccine program, Slaoui’s role leading vaccine development for the government effort is expected to be diminished after 20 January, CNBC said. In England, thousands of hospital patients are to be discharged early to hotels or their own homes to free up beds for Covid-19 sufferers needing life-or-death care, the Guardian has learned. Hospital chiefs in England intend to start discharging patients early on a scale never seen before, as an emergency measure to create “extra emergency contingency capacity” and stop parts of the NHS collapsing, senior sources said. Documents seen by the Guardian also revealed that the NHS is asking care homes to start accepting Covid patients directly from hospitals and without a recent negative test, as long as they have been in isolation for 14 days and have shown no new symptoms: And now a break from the bad news: English Covid rules have changed 64 times since March, says barrister Lockdown rules in England have been changed at least 64 times by the government since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a human rights barrister has calculated, amid growing calls for clearer guidance for the public. Adam Wagner, of Doughty Street Chambers, said that new national regulations, local regulations, regulations on face coverings or rules on travel quarantine have passed into law on average every four-and-a-half days since the first restrictions were introduced in the spring: In the UK, people who were trapped in poverty before the pandemic have suffered the most financial damage during the crisis, according to a report warning the government that more support is needed to help hard-pressed families. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation said those who had been struggling to make ends meet before March last year were more likely to work in precarious jobs or sectors of the economy that had been hardest hit by lockdowns. Calling on the government to make permanent a £20 per week rise in universal credit benefit payments – which is due to be cut from the end of March – it said that many families had been pushed to the brink during the latest lockdown and had few resources left: US CDC expands pre-flight Covid testing Anyone flying to the US will soon need to show proof of a negative test for Covid-19, health officials announced Tuesday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requirement expands on a similar one announced late last month for passengers coming from the United Kingdom. The new order takes effect in two weeks, AP reports. Covid is already widespread in the US, with more than 22 million cases reported to date, including more than 375,000 deaths. The new measures are designed to try to prevent travelers from bringing in newer forms of the virus that scientists say can spread more easily. The CDC order applies to US citizens as well as foreign travellers. The agency said it delayed the effective date until 26 January to give airlines and travellers time to comply. International travel to the US has already been decimated by pandemic restrictions put in place last March that banned most foreigners from Europe and other areas. Travel by foreigners to the US and by Americans to international destinations in December was down 76% compared to a year earlier, according to trade group Airlines for America. The new restrictions require air passengers to get a Covid-19 test within three days of their flight to the US, and to provide written proof of the test result to the airline. Travellers can also provide documentation that they had the infection in the past and recovered. Airlines are ordered to stop passengers from boarding if they don’t have proof of a negative test. “Testing does not eliminate all risk,” CDC Director Robert R. Redfield said in a statement. “But when combined with a period of staying at home and everyday precautions like wearing masks and social distancing, it can make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations.” The CDC order is “a reasonable approach” to reducing the risk of new variants from abroad entering the US, said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of Brown University’s school of public health. New data shows 50.4% efficacy for China"s CoronaVac vaccine in Brazil A coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech was just 50.4% effective at preventing symptomatic infections in a Brazilian trial, researchers said on Tuesday, barely enough for regulatory approval and well below the rate announced last week. Reuters: The latest results are a major disappointment for Brazil, as the Chinese vaccine is one of two that the federal government has lined up to begin immunisation during the second wave of the world’s second-deadliest Covid-19 outbreak. Several scientists and observers blasted the Butantan biomedical center for releasing partial data just days ago that generated unrealistic expectations. The confusion may add to skepticism in Brazil about the Chinese vaccine, which President Jair Bolsonaro has criticized, questioning its “origins.” “We have a good vaccine. Not the best vaccine in the world. Not the ideal vaccine,” said microbiologist Natalia Pasternak, criticizing Butantan’s triumphant tone. Last week, the Brazilian researchers had celebrated results showing 78% efficacy against “mild-to-severe” Covid-19 cases, a rate they later described as “clinical efficacy.” They said nothing at the time about another group of “very mild” infections among those who received the vaccine that did not require clinical assistance. Ricardo Palacios, medical director for clinical research at Butantan, said on Tuesday that the new lower efficacy finding included data on those “very mild” cases. Piecemeal disclosures about Chinese vaccine trials globally have raised concerns that they are not subject to the same public scrutiny as U.S. and European alternatives. Palacios and officials in the Sao Paulo state government, which funds Butantan, emphasised the good news that none of the volunteers inoculated with CoronaVac had to be hospitalised with Covid-19 symptoms. Public health experts said that alone will be a relief for Brazilian hospitals that are buckling under the strain of surging case loads. However, it will take longer to curb the pandemic with a vaccine that allows so many mild cases. Summary Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the global coronavirus pandemic. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments from around the world for the next few hours. As always, the best place to find me is on Twitter @helenrsullivan. You can also send an email to: helen.sullivan@theguardian.com. The Chinese-developed Coronavac Covid-19 vaccine has demonstrated a 50 percent efficacy following tests in Brazil, the organization in charge of its production in the South American country said on Tuesday. Coronavac has been given to frontline health care workers in close contact with coronavirus patients. Meanwhile the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has approved an order expanding coronavirus testing requirements for nearly all international air travellers starting 26 January. Angela Merkel suggested Germany’s hard lockdown may last a further eight to 10 weeks. Health officials are particularly concerned about the spread of the new, far more contagious variant from the UK, which is thought to have been in Germany for several weeks. Portuguese president tests negative after a Covid positive test. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has now tested negative for coronavirus after a positive test saw him cancel all public engagements two weeks before a presidential election. Chinese coronavirus vaccine shows 50% efficacy in Brazil. The Chinese-developed Coronavac Covid-19 vaccine has demonstrated a 50% efficacy following tests in Brazil. French coronavirus cases up 19,753 over 24 hours. France reported 19,753 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours on Tuesday, while the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units continued to rise. Greece urges EU to adopt vaccine certificate for travel. Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis urged the EU to adopt a “standardised” vaccination certificate to boost travel this year. Dutch extend coronavirus curbs until 9 February. The Netherlands is extending coronavirus restrictions until 9 February as infections are still high and the government is “very concerned” about the UK variant of the disease, prime minister Mark Rutte said. UK private Covid test companies accused of failing to deliver. Private companies have been accused of cashing in on the coronavirus pandemic by offering expensive Covid tests to customers with urgent travel plans, then failing to deliver.