The UK will approve the Oxford university/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in the coming days, with the number of people being vaccinated expected to increase significantly from the first week of January.

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is seen as game-changing within Whitehall, as its cheapness and ease of storage will allow the government to vaccinate more quickly. The BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, which was approved earlier this month, must be kept at minus 70C and can be moved only four times within a cold chain before being used.

More than 600,000 people have already been vaccinated in the UK, according to data released on Thursday. But the approval of the second vaccine is critical for meeting the government’s target of vaccinating the most vulnerable parts of the population by spring.