A coronavirus vaccine could be rolled out by Christmas - before it's even been given official approval by regulators.
At the front of the queue for the first doses are understood to be front line workers, over-50s, those with co-morbidities and minority ethnic groups.
It usually takes up to 24 months for a new medicine to be signed off by the European Medicines Agency before it is then scrutinised by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
But that procedure could be bypassed, with the waiting time slashed to just 70 days, meaning a virus jab could be ready before the end of the year, according to Kate Bingham, chair of the Vaccines Taskforce.
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However, Oxford University has said any possibility of fast tracking the potential vaccine is reliant on 50,000 people signing up for trials.
With regulators already reviewing ways for trials to be sped up, Mrs Bingham told The Daily Telegraph a coronavirus jab could be put in the "emergency use" category and become available early.
She said by engaging regulators and the EMA at an early stage, "everything can be done much more quickly".
Mrs Bingham said added it's up to Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to decide who has the first doses.
It comes as Health Secretary Matt Hancock said British health officials and scientists had "played a blinder" in their search for a vaccine.
And he claimed the virus was now "on the back foot" despite the Government's own advisors warning of a second wave over the winter.
Mr Hancock refused to give a date when the public should expect a vaccine - adding that it would be "as soon as humanly possible".
And he told MPs the injection would not be approved until the authorities were "clinically confident" it was safe.
Health experts believe the best chance of defeating the pandemic is to develop several successful vaccines globally at the same time.
The Government has also bought 30m doses of the BioNtech/Pfizer vaccine and 60m doses of one being developed by Valneva.
Mrs Bingham said: "We're not pursuing a strategy of vaccine nationalism. We are recognising that this is a global pandemic and we need to ensure that the globe - and all those who need it - are vaccinated."
