A Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for use in the UK, paving the way for mass vaccination to start.

The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in the UK.

Officials said the vaccine will be made available "from next week".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "The Government has today accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve Pfizer/BioNTech's Covid-19 vaccine for use. This follows months of rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA who have concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.

"The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will shortly also publish its latest advice for the priority groups to receive the vaccine, including care home residents, health and care staff, the elderly and the clinically extremely vulnerable.

"The vaccine will be made available across the UK from next week."

The Department of Health and Social Care spokesman added: "The NHS has decades of experience in delivering large scale vaccination programmes and will begin putting their extensive preparations into action to provide care and support to all those eligible for vaccination.

"To aid the success of the vaccination programme it is vital everyone continues to play their part and abide by the necessary restrictions in their area so we can further suppress the virus and allow the NHS to do its work without being overwhelmed.

"Further details will be set out shortly."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: "Help is on its way. The MHRA has formally authorised the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19.

"The NHS stands ready to start vaccinating early next week.

"The UK is the first country in the world to have a clinically approved vaccine for supply."

Matt Hancock said that the UK was the first country in the world to have a "clinically authorised vaccine" to roll out.

How will it be delivered?

He told Sky News there would be "three modes of delivery" of the vaccine.

"The first is hospitals themselves, which of course we've got facilities like this," he said.

"50 hospitals across the country are already set up and waiting to receive the vaccine as soon as it's approved, so that can now happen.

"Also vaccination centres, which will be big centres where people can go to get vaccinated. They are being set up now.

"There will also be a community rollout, including GPs and pharmacists.

"Now, of course, because of the -70C storage conditions of this vaccine, they will be able to support this rollout where they have those facilities.

"But they'll also be there should the AstraZeneca vaccine be approved because that doesn't have these cold storage requirements and so is operationally easier to roll out."

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted: "This is fantastic news and will give us all hope as we head towards Christmas and the New Year.

"The government needs to put in place a plan to roll out the vaccine rapidly. They failed on PPE, failed on testing and failed on track and trace. We cannot afford another failure."

How many doses are available?

Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast that 800,000 doses of the vaccine will be available next week, with "several millions" more coming throughout December.

He said: "Next week, there'll be 800,000, so it's the first start. We'll then deploy at the speed that it's manufactured, and the manufacturing is, of course, being done by Pfizer in Belgium, so that will determine the speed at which we can roll it out."

What is the response in Wales?

The First Minister of Wales welcomed the news that the vaccine has been approved.

Mark Drakeford tweeted: "Thank you to everyone who has worked so hard to make this a reality.

"Our vaccine programme is ready to go, but the impact won't be seen nationally for some months.

"In the meantime, we all must continue to follow the rules and protect each other."