The Pfizer vaccine is a new type called an mRNA vaccine that uses a tiny fragment of genetic code from the pandemic virus to teach the body how fight Covid-19 and build immunity.

An mRNA vaccine has never been approved for use in humans before, although people have received them in clinical trials.

Here, our colleagues lay out how it works.

Image source, Reuters

Austria’s government will decide today how to allow shops and schools to reopen when lockdown ends next week. All teachers will be tested as part of a national mass testing programme and younger secondary pupils will be allowed back with masks. Hotels, bars and leisure facilities are set to remain closed but ski resorts could be allowed to open before Christmas for locals and day visitors alone.

France wants to ban its citizens from going on ski holidays abroad, as neighbouring Switzerland is keeping its resorts open. President Emmanuel Macron wants to avoid “creating an imbalance with ski resorts in France” that are being kept shut.

Ski resorts will also stay shut in Italy until January. Italians will have to stay in their local area over Christmas and New Year and a 21:00 curfew will stay in place throughout December. However, restaurants will stay open, including at Christmas.

Latvia has extended a state of emergency until 11 January – from tomorrow a 2+2 rule is required for meetings limited to two people two metres apart; shopping centres are shut at weekends and masks must be worn indoors including at schools. Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins says the situation in Latvia is “very serious”.

Germany has reported a record 487 deaths in 24 hours although infections have fallen and health officials put the transmission or R-rate at 0.89, so every 100 people with the virus infect 89 others.

Turkey has reported a record 190 deaths in 24 hours and has imposed curfews every night from 21:00 to 05:00.

The number of people in intensive care in Belgium has fallen below 900 for the first time since 26 October - 198 people were admitted to hospital yesterday.

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We can now tell you that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will lead a Downing Street press conference at 17:00 GMT.

It will cover today's vaccine developments, as well as England's exit from national restrictions to the new tier system, which comes into force today.

There will also be a Downing Street technical briefing on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine announcement at 10:00 GMT with Dr June Raine, chief executive of British regulator the MHRA, Prof Sir Munir Pirmohamed, chair of the Commission on Human Medicine Expert Working Group and Prof Wei Shen Lim, chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation.

The health secretary has been doing the media rounds this morning, in cheery spirits.

A little earlier, he told BBC Breakfast he was "thrilled" with the news and said the vaccine would be rolled out "from next week".

More messages of hope this morning, this time from Welsh leaders.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said, external news that the vaccine had been approved was "a small glimmer of light at the end of what has been a long and dark tunnel".

He urged people to continue to do their bit to prevent the spread of coronavirus - regular hand washing, social distancing, and wearing a face covering.

Health minister Vaughan Gething called it "really positive news" in a tweet, external and said he would provide more details of Wales' plan to deliver the vaccine later.

Read more on the latest in Wales here.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has welcomed the news about the vaccine, tweeting from his account., external

He said it was "fantastic" that the regulator had formally authorised the vaccine.

"The vaccine will begin to be made available across the UK from next week," he said.

"It’s the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again."

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The government's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty said that, despite the vaccine news, "we can't lower our guard yet".

He tweeted:, external "The independent regulator authorised the first vaccine for use against Covid-19.

"This is excellent news and a step towards normality. It will take until spring until the vulnerable population who wish to are fully vaccinated. We can't lower our guard yet."

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has defended England's new tier system, which comes into force today, saying it will help to keep the virus under control until a vaccine is rolled out.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he respected the judgements of those MPs who voted against the measures but said "the overwhelming majority" backed them.

"We have a set of measures in the tier restrictions, backed convincingly by the House of Commons, that is the way that we can keep this virus under control until we get this rollout through to protect vulnerable people," he said.

Asked whether in the future the government would consider breaking down counties into smaller areas with different levels of restrictions, Hancock said: "Where that’s appropriate, that’s what we’ll do."

"That’s what we’ve done throughout these localised restrictions," he added.

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A buoyant Matt Hancock is outlining to BBC Today's listeners how our lives might look over the coming months.

He says the new tiers system in England, which includes tough restrictions on most people's social lives, will be in place for the "forthcoming few months".

But, he says, you can see now "with confidence that from the Spring onwards, things are going to be getting better".

"Help is on its way," he adds, urging people to redouble their resolve and to hold their nerve.

"We can see the dawn in the distance but we've got to get through until morning."

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has welcomed the news about the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine being approved, which Matt Hancock has said will be rolled out across the UK.

She said it was the "best news in a long time".

"Scotgov ready to start vaccinations as soon as supplies arrive," she tweeted., external

Image source, Reuters

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been talking to BBC's Today programme, saying again how 2020 has been an "awful year" but 2021 is going to be "much better".

He explains the vaccination programme will "start small and ramp up", saying the vast majority of the vaccines will be given in the new year.

This year, he says, 400,000 people will be vaccinated and he explained that the speed at which they can get more is determined by how quickly the manufacturers in Belgium can make them.

The process is difficult and each batch has to be tested by UK regulators, he said.

Northern Ireland's health minister Robin Swann has joined the chorus of voices welcoming what he says is a "hugely significant day" in the fight against coronavirus.

"My department has the plans and preparations in place," he said, in a tweet., external

"There will be difficult days ahead, people must not let their guard down, but there are brighter days ahead," he added.

It is thought Northern Ireland will receive about 1.5 million doses.

You can read more about the rollout plans for Northern Ireland here.

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Mr Hancock is asked the question that is key for so many: When can life get back to normal?

"2020 has been just awful and 2021 is going to be better," he says. "Help is on its way with this vaccine and we can now say that with certainty rather than with all the caveats.

"This will take time to roll out, you've got to have that 21 days in between the jabs anyway and we've got to get this rolled out at the speed of which it can be manufactured.

"But I'm confident now, with the news today, that from spring, from Easter onwards, things are going to be better. And we're going to have a summer next year that everybody can enjoy.

"Between now and then we have got to hold our resolve. Let's all respect the restrictions that we have to live our lives in for now."

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Mr Hancock is asked by BBC Breakfast how to persuade people who might be feeling unsure about taking the vaccine as it has been approved so quickly.

"Well it's absolutely true that for a vaccine to be authorised by the regulator it must be clinically safe," he says.

"And the best way of putting it is it protects you from the disease and getting this disease is terrible and can be fatal. The regulator wouldn't have approved it if they felt it wasn't safe, having looked at the data.

"The other thing I'd say though, is don't just listen to me. Listen to the doctors, listen to the nurses, listen to Professor Van-Tam... As he put it, he phoned up his mum and said, mum if you get the call from the NHS then go and get vaccinated."

"They have done the checks and they know that it is safe," Mr Hancock says, of the regulator the MHRA.

Scotland's interim chief medical officer Gregor Smith said the vaccine approval was "wonderful news".

"First of several vaccines in pipeline and begins to change everything for our future," he said in a tweet.

Everyone in Scotland over the age of 18 is expected to be offered a vaccination, which is 4.4 million people.

Our colleagues in Scotland have been looking at how and when this could happen.

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In a statement, Sir Simon Stevens, who is chief executive of the NHS in England, said the vaccination programme would be the "largest-scale vaccination campaign in our country's history".

"This is an important next step in our response to the coronavirus pandemic and hospitals will shortly kick off the first phase of the largest-scale vaccination campaign in our country's history" he said.

He added that the NHS has a proven track record of delivering large-scale vaccinations from the winter flu jab to BCG and, once the final hurdles are cleared and the vaccine arrives in England's hospitals, health service staff would begin offering people this "ground-breaking jab" in a programme that would expand to cover the whole country in the coming months.

Mr Hancock says there will be three ways of rolling out the Pfizer/BioNTech across the UK:

• Hospitals: Most hospitals have the facilities to store something at -70, he says
• Vaccination centres: Big centres, "a bit like the Nightingales project and including some of the Nightingales" will be set up across the country
• In the community: GPs and pharmacists and others will help to give the jab to people, Mr Hancock says. But because the vaccine needs to be stored at -70C, this is harder, he adds.

Mr Hancock says other vaccines - like the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine which the UK has ordered 100 million doses of - are better suited to the community rollout, as it does not need to be stored at such low temperatures.

Asked about the other vaccines, Mr Hancock says the Oxford University vaccine is also currently being considered for approval by the medicines regulator.

The timing of that is in the hands of the regulator, he says.

And the Moderna vaccine is "still some time off" as it's being manufactured for delivery in April, he says.

Vaccinations minister Nadhim Zahawi tweeted a picture of himself with England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam.

"We will begin vaccine deployment next week, make sure we work carefully, and deploy steadily.

"Step by step we will defeat this virus," he wrote.

Health Secretary Mr Hancock is asked by BBC Breakfast how many doses will be rolled out by Christmas.

"The timing will be determined by how rapidly they can be manufactured," he says.

"We haven't put a figure on the numbers before Christmas but what we do know is that we can get started next week with that first load and then several millions will be coming throughout December.

"And people will be contacted by the NHS when it's their turn. And I urge you very strongly to come forward because obviously being vaccinated is good for you.

"It's approved as clinically safe by the regulator and it's good for your community as well to get this virus finally under control once and for all."

Asked who will get the jab first, Mr Hancock says the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisations is in charge of the priority list.

"So it's according to clinical need, the goal is to save as many lives as possible and stop hospitalisations," he tells BBC Breakfast.

"So it will start with the most elderly and with people in care homes and of course their carers to make sure that others don't catch it.

"And then essentially it comes down the age range. NHS staff are also high on that priority list and also the clinically extremely vulnerable who we've supported throughout this crisis, those who are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus.

"The details of that will be set out mid-morning by the JCVI. And the regulators will also be setting out the details of the clinical trials and why they felt able to approve this vaccine."