People in the UK could be allowed to stop wearing face masks by next year, the UK's Health Secretary has predicted.
Matt Hancock suggested face coverings would no longer be mandatory in places such as public transport, shops and pubs thanks to the coronavirus vaccine.
But he said some have 'got used to' wearing masks and would have to decide what to do based on 'personal responsibility', The Mirror reports.
He urged the public to continue wearing masks for now - even if they have received the Covid-19 jab.
He told LBC Radio: “You still ought to. Because we don’t know the impact of the vaccine on you transmitting the virus. You may still have the disease asymptomatically and still transmit it. And that’s one of the things we will be measuring as we roll out the vaccine.”
In Scotland, it is law to wear face coverings in indoor public places shops, on public transport and in restaurants and workplaces when not seated.
It comes after a 90-year-old woman today became the first person in the UK to get vaccinated against coronavirus.
In historic scenes dubbed ‘V-day’, the grandmother was given the first of 800,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab at 6.31am in Coventry.
There are still big questions about when all 40million doses of the Pfizer jab will reach the UK - and when lockdown restrictions can start to be lifted.
The government is saying “several million” doses will arrive by December 31 but has dropped a pledge of 10million.
Some 25million people are in priority groups, including all previous shielders and all over-50s, and most of them aren’t expected to be vaccinated until next year.
Today Mr Hancock said “it will take months” for wide-scale protection to kick in - but also claimed people will be allowed to stop wearing masks at some point next year.
He said “we’ve still got a march ahead of us” and it’s not yet known if the vaccine stops recipients transmitting Covid to others.
But asked if he imagined “we’ll be wearing masks for most of next year”, the Health Secretary told LBC: “I don’t think so.
“I think that by Spring we should be out of the measures, I really hope.
"And I hope that we have a normal summer this summer coming.
“I think people have got used to wearing masks in certain circumstances. I want to get back to living by personal responsibility rather than by laws we’ve had to pass through parliament. And now we can see the route to getting back to that.”
It comes as the first Scots will receive the new Covid-19 vaccination today in a landmark moment after the country was plunged into a lockdown nine months ago.
Frontline health workers will be given jabs at 23 sites across Scotland under the initial phase of a national programme which will eventually see millions of people protected against coronavirus.
Nicola Sturgeon will today confirm the coronavirus tiers that will apply to Scotland's thirty two local authorities.
The Scottish Cabinet will sign off a plan which will be announced by the First Minister at Holyrood.
Scotland's five tier system, which ranges from zero to four, has been in place since early November.
