Immunity from Covid vaccines "won't just disappear" in the face of imported variants of the virus, an expert said.
Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), aid he expected a “gradual erosion” of vaccine protection as the virus evolves.
However he said this was unlikely to set lockdown easing back to "square one".
Professor Finn said this would not be enough to “scupper” the Prime Minister’s road map, as one leading scientist had predicted.
On Friday, Imperial College’s Danny Altmann said “we should be terribly concerned” after 77 cases of a potentially vaccine-busting Covid-19 mutation first discovered in India were identified in Britain - could lead to a third wave.
Professor Finn said he thought the assessment was "a bit pessimistic".
He told Times Radio: “We’ve all expected evolution of this virus to occur from the start.
“I also think that we know from other viruses and previous experience that the immunity that vaccines give won’t just disappear.
“It will be a gradual erosion. It won’t be back to square one. I would be really surprised if that happened.
“So, I think, possibly, that interpretation is a bit pessimistic.”
