The UK boss for the Pfizer vaccine has said he is comfortable with the Government's plan to end lockdown in England.
However, he said he will still wear a face mask in crowded settings.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Pfizer chief Ben Osborn said: "I will feel much more comfortable once everybody, both here in the UK and across the globe, has received two doses of the vaccine, or one of the others that are available.
"I think it's only then that we have much more certainty in terms of that protection that we all require," he said.
"But what we do see from the data so far, in relation to where we are on 19 July, is that we do have a good level of protection. And, therefore, I feel very comfortable with the restrictions and decisions that have been made."
Elsewhere, Dr Mike Tildesley, a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (Spi-M) Government advisory panel said “there is a risk” with the July 19 reopening.
He said it is not for him to say whether the reopening should go ahead, but added: “What I will say is it’s a very difficult decision for the Government.”
When it was suggested to him the UK is living in a “bit of an experiment” in relation to lifting most restrictions, he told Times Radio: “In a sense we are.
“But also I think when we compare with most other countries we do have much higher levels of vaccine rates than most other countries.”
He urged people to ensure they get their second dose of vaccine due to the “much higher” levels of protection it provides against the Delta variant.
He said the risk “should decrease as we go through August and we get more people vaccinated”.
But he added: “But still, there is a risk with July 19 in terms of exposing more people to infection as a result of further reopening.”
Dr Tildesley, who is based at the University of Warwick and is an expert in infectious disease control, said “we might expect” hospital admissions and deaths to peak “possibly at some point in August” but that it is not likely to be on the same scale as January.
