Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has developed a coronavirus vaccine that's shown to be 90 per cent effective in trials.
Analysis of phase three results has not identified any serious safety concerns and shown the vaccine to be effective in preventing spread of the infection in the overwhelming majority of cases.
The company has been working on the vaccine with biotech firm BioNTech.
Pfizer chairman Dr Albert Bourla, insists it's a great day for science and humanity.
He said: "The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent Covid-19."
"We will continue to collect further data as the trial continues to enrol for a final analysis planned when a total of 164 confirmed Covid-19 cases have accrued.
"I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to make this important achievement possible."
More than 43,000 people took part in the study, with the vaccine delivered in two doses.
The news was welcomed by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at her daily briefing today.
She said: "This is not going to present us with a way out of this today, tomorrow, next week, or even this calendar year, but this development with all the other work that's going into the development of other vaccines, does give us real hope that in the not too distant future, science is going to find us the way out of this terrible time."
