Vaccine rollout timeline: When can you get the vaccine? Full order

The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in the UK are being rolled out to 50 hospital hubs in England on December 7. After months of lockdown, the UK will finally begin its coronavirus vaccination programme from Tuesday. The bulk of coronavirus vaccinations are expected to take place early next year, as the Government expects only limited doses of vaccine to be available by the end of 2020.

The Government has secured a total of 40 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, becoming the first nation worldwide to authorise the vaccine for use.

In the first batch to be rolled out in the UK, there are 800,000 doses – enough to vaccinate 400,000 people initially.

Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “I don’t think people should expect anything over the next few days because the reality is, as I said, that for the vast, vast, vast majority of people this will be done in January, February, March.

“And the one thing that we don’t want people to get anxious about or concerned about is ‘Where’s my letter?’ in December.”

READ MORE: Covid vaccine: When will the Oxford vaccine be ready?

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has reported a 70 percent average efficacy rate according to phase 3 trial data.

Although it is not known when or if the vaccine will be approved soon, Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the Sunday Telegraph the vaccine “may come before Christmas, it may come early in the new year.”

Professor Van-Tam has also stated he hopes the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved before Christmas.

The UK Government has purchased seven different types of coronavirus vaccine, which are currently under review pending approval.

In total, the Government has secured 335 million doses of vaccine, including five million doses of the Moderna vaccine, which has reported 94.1 percent efficacy according to phase 3 trial data.

Additionally, the Government has secured 60 million doses of the GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur vaccine.