The health secretary has said he is confident we can get out of the pandemic "by spring" after another Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use in the UK.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine - enough to vaccinate 50 million people.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "The government has today accepted the recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to authorise Oxford University/AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine for use.
"This follows rigorous clinical trials and a thorough analysis of the data by experts at the MHRA, which has concluded that the vaccine has met its strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness."
Mr Hancock said the approval of the Oxford vaccine was "fantastic news" and confirmed that the rollout would begin on January 4.
He told Sky News he was "confident we can get out of the pandemic by the spring".
He said: "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.
"It is going to be a difficult few weeks ahead.
"We can see the pressures right now on the NHS and it is absolutely critical that people follow the rules and do everything they can to stop the spread, particularly of the new variant of this virus that transmits so much faster.
"But we also know that there is a route out of this. The vaccine provides that route out. We have all just got to hold our nerve over the weeks to come."
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, it does not require extreme cold storage, meaning it is easier to transport, in particular to care homes and GP surgeries. It is cheaper and easier to mass produce.
Data published in The Lancet medical journal in early December showed the vaccine was 62pc effective in preventing Covid-19 among a group of 4,440 people given two standard doses of the vaccine when compared with 4,455 people given a placebo drug.
Of 1,367 people given a half first dose of the vaccine followed by a full second dose, there was 90pc protection against Covid-19 when compared with a control group of 1,374 people.
The overall Lancet data, which was peer-reviewed, set out full results from clinical trials of more than 20,000 people.
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