People are being warned that COVID-19 immunity will "take time to build", despite the boss of AstraZeneca announcing that scientists working on the Oxford vaccine have found a "winning formula".
With a new variant of coronavirus surging across the UK, England has already been put on notice for a New Year lockdown after the government's chief scientific adviser warned that an extension of Tier 4 restrictions may be needed.
Sir Patrick Vallance warned ahead of Christmas that because the new variant is more transmissible, "it's likely that measures will need to be increased in some places, in due course, not reduced".
The next review of the tier system is due on Wednesday.
World Health Organisation spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris told Sky News that the rollout of vaccines may well be a "turning point".
But she added a reminder that everyone will need two doses of a vaccine - weeks apart - and that it will "take time to build up that immunity for all of us".
The promise of a return to normal, via the jabs, will only be "fulfilled", Dr Harris said, if we "keep on doing all the other things to stop the transmission of the virus", such as avoiding gathering in unventilated spaces, wearing masks, and washing hands.
She also said it is "critical to understand" that even though you may not have any symptoms, you could still be carrying COVID-19.
It was previously revealed that trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine have shown an efficacy rate of 90% when people were given half a dose followed by a whole dose at least a month later.
But when two full doses were given at least a month apart, the vaccine had an efficacy of 62% - meaning that, when all the results were taken into account, the overall efficacy was 70%.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were shown to be 95% and 94.5% effective respectively.
But Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, told The Sunday Times: "We think we have figured out the winning formula and how to get efficacy that, after two doses, is up there with everybody else."
He added: "I can't tell you more because we will publish at some point."
Such an improvement would be a relief to the government, which has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, with around 40 million expected to be available by the end of March.
Mr Soriot said the earlier results had been seen by the pharmaceutical company as "positive", adding: "They meet the criteria established by regulators around the world.
"We assumed people would be a bit disappointed, that's for sure, but we didn't expect that storm."
His comments follow reports that the vaccine could be approved in the coming days. According to The Sunday Telegraph, distribution could begin as early as 4 January.
It is relatively cheap and can be stored at normal fridge temperature. Sky News understands it will be a little under £3 per dose.
Dr Peter Openshaw, professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, said: "It looks really promising and it also looks very deliverable.
"We have huge optimism that this is a major part of how we can control the current surge."
He added that the global impact of this vaccine could be "much greater" than others and that it could "greatly accelerate" the UK's current vaccination programme.
Responding to Sunday's reports, the government said that the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) must be given time to review the vaccine data.
"The medicines regulator is reviewing the final data from the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca phase three clinical trials to determine whether the vaccine meets their strict standards of quality, safety and effectiveness," it said.
"We must now give the MHRA the time to carry out its important work and we must wait for its advice."
ANALYSIS: Oxford/AstraZeneca jab still has one disadvantage
By Rowland Manthorpe, technology correspondent
When it comes to rollout, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has three big advantages over the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. First, it's cheap, roughly a fifth of the price. Second, it does not need to be stored at temperatures as low as the other vaccines, making it much easier to distribute.
The other advantage is specific to the UK - we have lots of it.
The government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, compared to 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and seven million doses of the Moderna vaccine.
What's more, the UK can get access to it quickly, a crucial factor when every day's delay means more time in lockdown.
Yet there is also a disadvantage - the data from the Oxford/AstraZeneca trial has not been as clear as the data from the Pfizer one, which is most likely why approval has been delayed.
Comments by the chief executive of AstraZeneca suggests regulators have been given fresh data, but it is not clear that this information would support plans like the one suggested by Tony Blair, which involve giving children one dose, nor that it will be as efficacious as the other vaccines.
Put another way, there is still some uncertainty about the Oxford vaccine.
Hopefully that will be cleared up soon, but until it is, we should be wary about counting on it returning life to normal.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijQFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9jb3ZpZC0xOS1hc3RyYXplbmVjYS10ZWFzZXMtd2lubmluZy1mb3JtdWxhLWZvci1veGZvcmQtamFiLWJ1dC13aG8td2FybnMtdmFjY2luZXMtYWxvbmUtd29udC1lbmQtcGFuZGVtaWMtMTIxNzM2MTPSAZEBaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2NvdmlkLTE5LWFzdHJhemVuZWNhLXRlYXNlcy13aW5uaW5nLWZvcm11bGEtZm9yLW94Zm9yZC1qYWItYnV0LXdoby13YXJucy12YWNjaW5lcy1hbG9uZS13b250LWVuZC1wYW5kZW1pYy0xMjE3MzYxMw?oc=5
2020-12-27 16:54:18Z
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