A health expert who is part of a group of scientists advising the UK Government on the coronavirus pandemic is hopeful a vaccine could be available by Christmas or next spring.
Virologist Professor Calum Semple said he is “optimistic” about the chances of getting a medicine rolled out to healthcare workers and the most vulnerable by the end of the’ year or early in 2021.
The Scot, a professor of child health and outbreak medicine at Liverpool University, made the comments as he was speaking on BBC Scotland’s coronavirus update afternoon programme on Wednesday.
Prof Semple, who has acted as a senior government clinical adviser on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: “I am more optimistic because I do think we will have a vaccine in the Christmas time or the spring, certainly for healthcare professionals and for the extremely vulnerable.
“And we have now got two medicines that we know work: dexamethasone is inexpensive and relatively available, and that is dramatically reducing deaths.
“But we need to remain careful to not forget about general illness in the community.
“If a large number of people are just having to take a couple of weeks off because they are sick and they are poleaxed by Covid, that means that they can’t do their day job.
“And that day job might be driving an ambulance, that day job might be mending a mobile phone mast in your area; so you need to think of it in that sense.”
Success of restrictions ‘depends on Scottish people’
When asked if he thought Scotland’s temporary October restrictions would be enough to stop the spread of coronavirus in its track, he said: “It entirely depends on the population’s response to the regulations.
“It is not a case of crystals balls or ‘is it enough?’ It is about how society understands and responds.
“Two weeks is probably not long enough because we know that today’s cases – infections that occur today – will be in hospitals in the next week and will then be dying in a week or two after that.
“So you won’t actually see an impact on your healthcare services for at least two weeks.
“So, yes, I do think the intervention will need to be longer than that but will it be enough? That depends on Scottish people.”
Prof Semple, one of the UK’s leading experts during the Covid-19 pandemic, was recognised with an OBE last week in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list for his efforts throughout the crisis.