Social distancing could be ended as soon as the summer after the most vulnerable have been vaccinated against Coronavirus, a government scientist has said.
Professor Calum Semple, a member of the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) said he believes frontline workers and the elderly will have received vaccinations and life could ‘return to normal’ before the summer.
He said: “There will be strong push to get the vaccination throughout the community, and not just focus on the elderly, but the elderly and the frail will come first but I do think we will be seeing a lifting of restrictions in the spring.
Boris Johnson is expected to announce further restrictions to the public tomorrow.
” height=”800″ width=”1200″ srcset=”https://static.independent.co.uk/2020/11/21/16/boris%20commons.jpg?width=320 320w, https://static.independent.co.uk/2020/11/21/16/boris%20commons.jpg?width=640 640w” layout=”responsive” i-amphtml-ssr data-hero i-amphtml-layout=”responsive”> Boris Johnson is expected to announce further restrictions to the public tomorrow. (via REUTERS)
“There’s a lot to be optimistic about, we’ve also got really good ways of looking after people, death rates have fallen from one in three, to one in six, so there’s a lot to be optimistic about here.”
Boris Johnson is also expected to tell the public how they will be able to see loved ones over Christmas in a statement to parliament on Monday.
When asked if he thought we faced social distancing until next summer Prof Semple said: “I doubt that because if we can vaccinate the frail and the elderly then that will take the pressure off the groups that will be coming into hospitals with severe disease.
“We do still have a core of women particularly aged between 20-40 where were seeing 3/4 times more admissions of these women than men.
“That’s really not been well explained but does match their roles in healthcare, hospitality and the entertainment industry.”
He added: “A vaccine wont come soon enough for the general population, and its within the general population that most household contacts take place, most personal care contacts take place, and its these intimate interactions, prolonged personal interactions that drive the R back up again.
“The vaccine priorities will inevitably be the most vulnerable and the frontline health care workers, it won’t be academics like me, and I think we see that being phased out around Christmas and New Year, because the vaccines are already ordered and we’ve got excellent results.
“For the rest of the population I think we’ll be looking towards the summer before there is mass vaccination for the rest of the population, and that’s what will give us the immunity, the broad immunity that allows us to return to normal.”
