Jonathan Van-Tam answers your questions

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England, says he hasn't heard anything to suggest people won't be able to spend Christmas with their friends or family this year.

As part of his job as England's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Prof Van-Tam advises the government on what to do during the pandemic and sometimes speaks alongside the prime minister during press conferences.

Speaking to Newsround, Prof Van-Tam sat down with Ricky to answer questions asked by children.

"We are already in a very different place to last year," Professor Van-Tam said in response to a question about Christmas, when last year restrictions prevented many people from seeing members of their family.

"We've been rolling out these vaccines for over a year now and many, many people have more protection on board than they did have last year."