Every Victorian aged 16 years and over is now eligible to access a COVID-19 vaccine at State-run vaccination centres under an expansion of Victoria’s vaccine program.
Premier, Daniel Andrews said the expansion, which came into effect on Wednesday (25 August), would help the State reach its goal of one million vaccination doses over five weeks.
“Over the next four weeks, there will be over 830,000 appointments for COVID-19 vaccines at more than 55 State-run centres operating across Victoria – this includes 450,000 first-dose appointments for the Pfizer vaccine,” Mr Andrews said.
“With this new expansion, the number of Victorians eligible to receive Pfizer has increased by two million,” he said.
“Approximately 1.7 million Victorians aged 16 to 59 have already been vaccinated across general practice, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, community pharmacy and State vaccination centres.”
Mr Andrews said the vaccination program expansion followed the supply of an additional 175,000 doses of Pfizer from the Commonwealth, recently received from overseas.
The Premier said anyone aged 18 to 39 who had a current booking for AstraZeneca but would prefer to receive Pfizer would not need to cancel or change their booking, instead they would be offered a choice between Pfizer and AstraZeneca when they arrived for their appointment.
“However, with the number of Victorians aged 18 to 59 still far outweighing the Pfizer doses available from the Commonwealth, the AstraZeneca vaccine will still be available for those who choose to provide consent and discuss their vaccination with a medical professional,” he said.
“The best vaccine you can get is the one that you can get today.”
Mr Andrews said it was important for people to remember they could also get vaccinated with their local GP or selected pharmacists across the State.
He said Victorians were required to book their vaccination appointment by visiting coronavirus.vic.gov.au or by phoning the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398.
The latest information on COVID-19 vaccination can be accessed at this PS News link.
