The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has become the second coronavirus jab to be approved for UK use.
It has been given the go-ahead by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The vaccine, codenamed AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, was developed at Oxford University with support from the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
Results from clinical trials showed that it is up to 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, almost matching the protection by the rival Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock speaking to Sky News in his morning round of TV interviews said the Oxford vaccine will start to be rolled out from 4 January and that it will help “accelerate” vaccinating the nation.
He said: “It’s very good news for accelerating the vaccine rollout. It brings forward the day we can get our lives back to normal.
“I am now, with this approval this morning, highly confident that we can get enough vulnerable people vaccinated by the spring that we can now see the route out of this pandemic.
“The vaccine is our way out of the pandemic.”