Prime Minister Boris Johnson will hold a coronavirus press conference at 5pm on Monday, Downing Street announced.
A Number 10 spokesman welcomed the results from Pfizer’s vaccine tests as “promising” and said the UK will have procured 10 million doses by the end of the year to be given out if it is approved.
The press conference is likely to include an update on the mass testing scheme rolled out in Liverpool on Friday.
It comes as the Government faces mounting pressure to release London from lockdown early as the capital continues to see a drop in coronavirus infections.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The results are promising and while we are optimistic of a breakthrough, we must remember there are no guarantees.
“We will know whether the vaccine is both safe and effective once the safety data has been published and only then can licensing authorities consider making it available to the public.
“In the meantime, the NHS stands ready to begin a vaccination programme for those most at risk once a Covid-19 vaccine is available before being rolled out more widely.
“In total, we’ve procured 40 million doses of the Pfizer candidate vaccine, with 10 million of those doses being manufactured and available to the UK by the end of the year if the vaccine is approved by the regulators.”
Boris Johnson will be joined by deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam and Brigadier Joe Fossey at the Downing Street press conference, No 10 said.
It is understood that today's press conference will be part of a wider plan by Downing Street to inform the public during the second lockdown with two more updates expected this week.
A total of 61,498 deaths have so far been registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate, according to reports published last week by the Office for National Statistics, the National Records of Scotland, and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency.
