Political leaders are raising ‘false hopes’ about coronavirus vaccines

Drugs now under development are unlikely to end the pandemic, the Wellcome Trust's Jeremy Farrar warns

• Finding a vaccine will take time and global cooperation

Vaccines will not be a silver bullet to end the Covid-19 pandemic and leaders must avoid creating false hope, a key government adviser has warned.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, writes in today's Observer that the first vaccines are likely to be only partially effective. Raising expectations and rushing new drugs into production risks damaging public trust in any vaccination programmes that eventually arrive, he said.