Covid vaccine will not be available in UK before spring, says Sir Patrick Vallance – video

It is unlikely a coronavirus vaccine will be in widespread use in Britain before next spring, the government's chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said on Monday. The Sunday Times had reported that Britain's health service was preparing for a roll-out of jabs soon after Christmas, because late-stage trials of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine were going well, citing a briefing by the deputy chief medical officer to lawmakers. But Vallance said it was important not to get hopes up too early on the delivery of vaccines during a difficult winter, noting that vaccines usually took a decade to produce.

• Covid vaccine will not be available in UK until spring, says Vallance