NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said he expects lockdown to be eased gradually around spring and summer time.
His comments come amid reports from The Sunday Times that a 'Cabinet deal' has been struck to approve a three-point plan on lifting coronavirus restrictions from early March.
Mr Stevens said: “It is not going to be the case that on Valentine’s Day, with one bound, we are free.
“Equally, I don’t think we will have to wait until the autumn, I think somewhere between those two.
“Subject, of course, to this uncertainty around new variants of coronavirus and it will be very important we don’t see those taking off in a way that undermines the effectiveness of the vaccines we have.”
These comments will offer hope to the nation which is currently gripped by a third lockdown after 1,295 covid-19 deaths were reported yesterday.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said this morning that restrictions are unlikely to disappear in one 'big bang', but the country could return to a tiered system in March.
He told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show: “The aim is by the middle of February to have 88% of those most at risk of dying of coronavirus with their first jab, and by the early spring to have 99% – so that is the milestone if you like.
“I think it is true to say that when we get to a situation in the early spring, perhaps March, if we succeed in hitting those targets – we have made good process so far – we can start to think about the phased transition out of the national lockdown.
“I think it is fair to say it won’t be a big bang, if you like, it will be done phased, possibly back through the tiered approach that we had before.”
