Even an effective coronavirus vaccine will not return life to normal in spring, a group of leading scientists has warned. A vaccine is often seen as the holy grail that will end the pandemic. But a report, from researchers brought together by the Royal Society, said we needed to be “realistic” about what a vaccine could achieve and when.

They said restrictions may need to be “gradually relaxed” as it could take up to a year to roll the vaccine out. More than 200 vaccines to protect against the virus are being developed by scientists around the world in a process that is taking place at unprecedented speed. “A vaccine offers great hope for potentially ending the pandemic, but we do know that the history of vaccine development is littered with lots of failures,” said Dr Fiona Culley, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London. There is optimism, including from the UK government’s scientific advisers, that some people may get a vaccine this year and mass vaccination may start early next year.(BBC)…[+]