Professor Jason Leitch reckons football fans could be back in stadiums by September.
The national clinical director was appearing on BBC Radio Scotland's 'Off The Ball' this afternoon and when asked by fellow guest Dave Cormack, the Aberdeen chairman, when crowds could be allowed back to cheer on their teams, Leitch revealed he hopes to see some fans return by the autumn.
Leitch said: "I would hope by September the whole country will be vaccinated, so nine million doses of vaccine - that's huge, remember.
"That's a massive logistical exercise with hundreds and thousands of people working on that.
"Then we will have to see what the virus does.
"We will have to see if we have managed to not import the virus again with travel restrictions, so people are going to have to pay some cost to get more freedom.
"That's why there is crowds at the Australian tennis this week [ahead of the Australian Open] because they have paid a price of international travel to get domestic freedom.
"If we get all of that right as a nation - that's not just the government, it's also all the people - then yes, I think there could be crowds of some description in September."
It's been 11 months since the last Premiership match played in front of a crowd took place, although 'test' events were held earlier in the season to allow a few hundred fans in to certain games, socially distanced.
Two days after St Mirren's 1-0 win over Hearts in Paisley on March 11, 2020, all football was shutdown due to the arrival of coronavirus on UK shores.
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