Coronavirus: Your vaccine questions answered

The NHS will be ready from December to roll out the new coronavirus vaccine if it gets approved, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.

He told MPs the news about the vaccine was an important step but "there are no guarantees".

He also said "we don't know" how many people will need to be vaccinated in order for life to return to normal.

While the new vaccine has been described as 'promising', there are lots of questions which need answering and it won't be released for use until it passes final safety tests.

Newsround's put together some answers to what you wanted to know about the new coronavirus vaccine.

"I can't wait for the vaccine, but I hope it's suitable for children"

At the moment there are no plans for children to get the vaccine.

The man in charge of health for the government, Health Secretary Matt Hancock, says that's because children have a lower risk of being badly affected by Covid-19 if they catch it.

Mr Hancock said: "This vaccine will not be used for children. It hasn't been tested on children. And the reason is that the likelihood of children having significant detriment if they catch Covid-19 is very, very low.

"So, this is an adult vaccine, for the adult population."

"Is there a priority list of who gets the vaccine first?"

Yes, the government's scientific advisors have already made a list of who would get the vaccine first when it is ready.

As age is a big risk factor for people becoming severely ill from Covid-19, older care home residents and care home staff are at the top of the priority list. They are followed by health workers such as hospital staff, and people aged over 80 years old.

People are then ranked by age and if they have a health condition which could mean they're more at risk, with people under 50 years old bottom of the list.

"Does this vaccine mean that the coronavirus pandemic is over?"

No. The vaccine is a positive step in tackling the virus and that's why there's lots of talk about it in the news, but experts say testing, lockdowns, social distancing, and mask wearing are still going to be a feature of our lives for a while yet.

If enough people are immune to the coronavirus, then the virus would stop spreading and we would not need other things like lockdowns for controlling it. But the first step is getting to that point.

The vaccine needs to be approved, made in large quantities and then given to people. It all takes time and we need ways to control the virus until then.

The BBC's Health Editor, Michelle Roberts, said: "Until and unless mass vaccination can happen, society needs to use the other weapons at its disposal to fight the virus and stop the spread.

"That means sticking with the social distancing and face masks, and testing people who may have the virus and asking them to isolate."

"Once you take the vaccine are you protected from Covid-19 for life?"

That's not known yet, and the answer will come from waiting.

If immunity against coronavirus does not last, then it may be necessary to have a vaccine every year, in the same way as for the flu vaccine.

There will also be some people with certain health conditions who will not be able to have the vaccine.

What do we still need to know about the vaccine?

Even though this is a big positive step, there are things that still need to be figured out.

We don't know if the vaccine just stops people from getting ill from Covid-19, or if it also stops someone from catching and spreading it too.

We also don't know how protective the vaccine is for different age groups.

The vaccine is currently in the final stage of testing and we are still waiting for the full data on how well it works.

Although early analysis of it is 'promising', scientists aren't sure exactly how effective it is.

Do you have any questions which we haven't answered yet? Let us know in the comments below.