Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine has today been approved by regulators and is set to begin rollout across the UK from January 4.
Read more about what the latest update means here
Here is a timeline of how we got this far
January 10 – Researchers from Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group begin work designing a vaccine for new virus Covid-19.
February 18 - The Jenner Institute agree a contract with Italian manufacturer Advent Srl to produce the vaccines for a clinical trial.
March 20 – The Oxford team announce they have found a likely candidate for a vaccine and are working towards human trials to begin in April.
March 27 – Scientists put out the call for volunteers to take part in the first phase of human clinical trials.
April 12 – Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading the trial, says she is ’80 per cent’ confident that the coronavirus vaccine will be a success.
April 23 – First human clinical trials begin for the Oxford vaccine, with Professor Gilbert explaining five years of work has been packed into four months to make it possible.
April 30 – Oxford University announces an agreement with the UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the further development, large-scale manufacture and potential distribution of the coronavirus vaccine.
May 17 - Business Secretary Alok Sharma says the clinical trial at Oxford University is progressing well, as he announces it will get a share of £84m 'to help accelerate their work'.
May 25 - Project leader Professor Adrian Hill, of Oxford University’s Jenner Institute, in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, says the trial now only had a 50 per cent chance of success due to falling cases.
"It's a race against the virus disappearing, and against time.”
June 2 - The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) approves the inclusion of Brazil in clinical trials of the Oxford vaccine.
June 23 – The Oxford vaccine announces clinical trials will begin in South Africa.
June 24 – Prince William visits Oxford Vaccine Group facilities at the Churchill Hospital.
June 27 – Clinical trials begin in Brazil.
July 16 – Promising reports begin to emerge that the the phase one trial in healthy adult volunteers is showing ‘double protection’ - with blood samples indicating it stimulated the body to produce both antibodies and 'killer T-cells'.
July 20 - The first results are published in medical journal The Lancet.
August 13- Andrew Lloyd Webber confirms he is set to take part in the Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial, saying he'll 'do anything to prove theatres can re-open safely'.
Septepmber 9 - Trials of Oxford's coronavirus vaccine are put on hold due to a reported side effect in a patient in the UK.
September 12 - Trials resume after an investigation. In a statement Oxford University said: “Globally some 18,000 individuals have received study vaccines as part of the trial.
"In large trials such as this, it is expected that some participants will become unwell and every case must be carefully evaluated to ensure careful assessment of safety."
September 18 - The Prime Minister meets scientists at the Jenner Institute, which has led research into Oxford's Covid-19 vaccine.
October 16 - A bizarre Russian campaign was launched to discredit the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, The Times reported.
It aimed to spread fear about the vaccine with claims that it will turn people into apes because it uses a 'chimpanzee virus'.
October 27 - Professor Andrew Pollard indicates results show the Oxford vaccine produces a strong immune response in the elderly, those most at risk from Covid, as well as younger adults.
November 23 - Researchers announce full late-stage trial results show the vaccine is 70.4 per cent effective, on average, in preventing coronavirus after two doses were given.
November 27 - The Government formally asks the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to assess the Oxford University and AstraZeneca jab.
December 8 - The first peer-reviewed results of phase 3 human trials of the jab were published in the Lancet. They show the vaccine is 'safe and effective' boosting hopes of approval.
December 30 - The MHRA officially gives the green light to the vaccine, with rollout expected from January 4.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here