The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has become the second Covid-19 vaccine to be approved for use in the UK officially.

The vaccine which was developed at Oxford University with support from AstraZeneca has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and will be rolled out from January 4th.

This news comes fresh off a strong resurgence in coronavirus cases across the UK, hitting hardest in the South East of England and London.

Matt Hancock 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”.