Hopes that Britain could have several working coronavirus vaccines within months have been boosted by a deal for five million doses of the most promising jab.
Government scientific advisers are optimistic that other vaccines will also offer protection after the US company Moderna said that its jab was almost 95 per cent effective.
A $125 million deal that secures Britain enough doses to inoculate 2.5 million people was finalised hours after early trial data also showed signs that the vaccine can protect people aged over 65 and that it stops severe illness.
Although British officials have been talking to Moderna for months, reaching agreement with other companies that can manufacture more rapidly was prioritised in the hope of starting mass immunisation before the end of