Former chief scientific adviser says Britain could be up to a year away from a coronavirus vaccine

The former chief scientific officer has this morning claimed that Britain could be just a year away from a coronavirus vaccination after experts warned such treatments could be slower to reach the UK after Brexit.

Former chief scientific adviser Sir Mark Walport said the country is several months away from a vaccine.

So far in the UK there have been over 1,300 confirmed cases of the disease and 35 people have died. 

Speaking on Sophie Ridge on Sunday he said: ‘Vaccines are being developed at a very fast rate so there are a number of candidates: large companies, small companies, universities all working.

‘The challenge here is to make sure the vaccine is safe and it works, and unfortunately, that takes a period of time to do so realistically.

‘It’s very unlikely that we are going to have a vaccine for the present round of this epidemic.

‘We are talking months, up to a year.’

Sir Mark added it was ‘quite likely’ that a large percentage of the population would get coronavirus, but many would be mild or sub-clinical.

His comments come as a report published by academics claimed that the UK may have to wait in line with other non-EU countries to get their hands on a vaccine. 

When all the details of the Brexit negotiations are finally ironed out the UK will also cease to be part of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)  – the body responsible for the monitoring of medicines. 

The UK will no longer be part of the regulatory regime which allows for the ‘accelerated assessment’ of products that have to be developed during a pandemic.

Writing in The Guardian, the academics penned: ‘For all these reasons … the UK is likely to have to join the queue for access with other countries outside the EU, and to pay more than it would otherwise as an EU member state. 

‘Looking further ahead, this problem will not be limited to emergencies and the UK can expect slower and more limited access to medicines, especially those for rare conditions or those used to treat children, where the market is small.’ 

Olivier Wouters of the London School of Economics and Political Science told the Guardian that the UK authorities could set up a separate review, that in turn could delay the processing of vaccines.

Sir Mark also added that even if the government takes extreme measures and closes everything down then society may stop working, but added that as the virus gathers pace there would be more limitations.   

‘Schools are an interesting problem and at the moment young people show little sign of infections.

‘Older people are getting their infections from the young’, he added.

He added that it wasn’t possible to completely shield people and that it was difficult to give general advice, highlighting that for many it would be a judgement call.

‘It’s about how you keep society going in these situations. The primary concern is to save lives and protect the most vulnerable.  

‘The way vaccines work is by giving immunity. The policy is to reduce transmission.’

Asked on why the government was not providing the general public with all the evidence regarding the virus, Sir Mark said that ministers were in ‘the heart of battle’ and were having to work on a ‘flood of information’.  

He added: ‘The virus will continue to spread – if you isolate everyone then it’s like putting out a fire, if there any embers left you will get an outbreak. This infection has a long way to go around the world but the evidence says we are prepared’. 

In a statement a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘The UK and our friends and partners across Europe are part of a concerted international effort to combat the threat of COVID-19. 

‘We are confident that our current close working relationships will continue as we ready ourselves for all eventualities. 

‘We’re fully supporting the UK’s world-leading, disease research sector to play a key role in the global effort, with £40 million of new funding for rapid research into the virus.’