Professor Andrew Pollard said he hoped the final trials could be finished by the end of the year. But he warned face masks and social distancing will still be needed until at least next summer.
Prof Pollard told the Daily Mail: “Life won’t be back to normal until summer at the earliest. We may need masks until July.
“If we end up with a vaccine that’s effective in preventing the disease, that is by far the best way to control the virus. But in the medium term, we’ll still need better treatments.
“When does life get back to normal? Even if we had enough vaccine for everyone, in my view it’s unlikely that we’re going to very rapidly be in a position where the physical distancing rules can be just dropped.
“Until we’ve got a high level of immunity in the population so that we can stop the virus so most vulnerable people are immune, there is going to be a risk.
“Initially, we’re going to be in a position where mask-wearing and social distancing don’t change.
“Only when there is a big drop in serious cases will governments feel able to relax these measures. This is a very easily transmissible virus.”
Rolling out the jab when it is ready will be a “huge logistical challenge”, Prof Pollard added.
His comments comes as the UK reported 17,234 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
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7.35am update: Huge crowds party on streets in Liverpool
Huge crowds gathered in Liverpool city centre last night when pubs closed ahead of tough new local lockdown restrictions which came into force at midnight.
Videos posted on social media show people taking to the streets to party around Concert Square at 10pm.
It comes as Liverpool City Region has been placed in Tier 3 – the highest coronavirus alert level under the new system.
7.30am update: Circuit breaker could save thousands of lives – scientists
A circuit breaker lockdown could save thousands of lives by the end of the year, scientists have said.
A paper by members of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) reportedly calculates that more than 7,000 lives could be saved if schools are closed and people are ordered to stay at home from October 24 for two weeks.
According to The Times, the modelling suggested that coronavirus deaths for the rest of the year could be reduced from 19,900 to 12,100, with hospital admissions cut from 132,400 to 66,500.
If schools and shops remained open, the death toll could be slashed to 15,600, it reported.
The paper, due to be published on Wednesday, is authored by Professor Graham Medley and other members of the Government’s Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling – known as SPI-M.
