NICOLA Sturgeon told Holyrood "the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter" as an an end to the pandemic "may be now in sight" for spring as she welcomed the latest news on a coronavirus vaccine.

The First Minister was speaking after giving her weekly update to MSPs on Scotland's five tier approach to contain the infection with most of the west and central Scotland on the strictest level of curbs until December 11.

"Yesterday we heard more good news from the Oxford University Astrazeneca clinical trials and I want to take the opportunity to congratulate the team there for the quite exceptional progress that has been made," she said.

"There is no doubt that the light at the end of the tunnel that we have been talking about for the last couple of weeks is getting brighter."

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She added that there is now a "distinct possibility" the first vaccines could be administered in Scotland before Christmas and by the spring of next year "we will have vaccinated our way back to something closer to normal life".

But she warned: "Although the end of the pandemic may now be in sight we haven't reached that at point yet though and the period ahead will be difficult."

Oxford University scientists yesterday said that they had created "a vaccine for the world" as trial results showed that their Covid-19 jab worked well enough to apply immediately for regulatory approval.

The vaccine involves two injections, administered about a month apart. The results suggest that using a lower first dose could boost efficacy to 90%. That finding relied, however, on limited data and may be amended.

Overall, a trial involving 24,000 people suggested that the vaccine was about 70% effective. It prevented severe disease and there are promising early signs that it might also block transmission of the virus. No dangerous side-effects were reported and the medical regulator has begun to review safety and efficacy data.

The UK has ordered 100 million doses. Astrazeneca, the drug company that is working with the university, said yesterday that four million of those would be ready to be sent to care homes, GP clinics and other vaccination centres by the end of the year. 

"I think we have a highly effective, safe vaccine," Sir Mene Pangalos, the head of research and development at Astrazeneca, which is based in Cambridge, said.

"Our job now is as rapidly as possible to work with regulators around the world … we have a lot of people that are very much looking forward to getting a little bit of rest — but not yet." 

Three of the six vaccines of which Britain has secured supplies — from Oxford, Pfizer and Moderna — have now produced encouraging final-stage results. Altogether, they could supply 145 million doses, enough to immunise the entire UK.