Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he "can't guarantee" there won't be another lockdown, as he told the public now is "not the time to relax" restrictions.
Mr Johnson said vaccinating 15 million people in ten weeks was an "unprecedented achievement," but warned we must be vigilant against the virus.
In today's daily briefing, the PM said the vaccination programme continued to "power past" the targets set for it but warned it was not the time to ease up on efforts.
He told a Downing Street press conference: "This is an unprecedented national achievement but it is no moment to relax.
"In fact it is the moment to accelerate because the threat from this virus remains very real."
Although more than 90% of over-70s had been vaccinated, some 60% of hospital patients with Covid-19 were under that age.
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He added: "Although the vaccination programme is going well, we still don't have enough data about the exact effectiveness of the vaccinations in reducing the spread of infection.
"We have some interesting straws in the wind, we have some grounds for confidence but the vaccinations have only been running for a matter of weeks.
"While we are learning the whole time, we don't, as I talk to you today, have all the hard facts that we need.
"And the level of infection remains very high."
Mr Johnson admitted he could not guarantee there would be no further lockdowns, although he stressed that "science is now unquestionably in the ascendancy over the disease".
He said: "I can't give that guarantee, of course not, because we are battling with nature, with a disease that is capable of mutating and changing.
"I'm increasingly confident, I'm increasingly optimistic about the sheer extent of the possibilities that are opening up with vaccinations.
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"I will be setting out as much of a timetable as we can give on the 22nd and I'm very hopeful that we will be able to go ahead and open things up."
While calling for the public to be patient about easing restrictions, Mr Johnson said he would reveal further details about how we would get out of lockdown next week.
He also called for people to be "optimistic but also patient" about the situation.
Mr Johnson said next week's "road map" would set out "as much as we possibly can about the route to normality, even though some things are very uncertain".
He added: "We want this lockdown to be the last. And we want progress to be cautious but also irreversible."
Mr Johnson also touched on the impact lockdown is having on people's mental health, saying he recognises the stresses and strains of restrictions.
Professor Chris Witty said one of the next priority groups to receive their first dose of the vaccine is people who have significant mental health issues, such as people living with schizophrenia and bipolar.
