Victoria opens vaccination to anyone aged 40 and over

Victoria's COVID-19 vaccine hotline crashed this morning as the government announced all people aged 40 and over will be eligible for the jab as the state enters a seven-day lockdown.

The state has recorded an additional 11 new cases of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the current cluster to 26 cases. There are 34 active cases across the state.

Acting Premier James Merlino announced the lockdown today which restricts Victorians to only leaving home for five reasons, shopping for food and supplies, authorised work, care and caregiving, exercise and getting vaccinated.

READ MORE: Victoria enters seven-day lockdown as outbreak worsens

From tomorrow, the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination program will expand to allow Victorians aged 40-49 years to receive the Pfizer vaccine at state-run vaccination sites.

This means more than half of all Victorians are now eligible to receive either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines.

Previously, only people aged over 50 and those in phase 1a and 1b of the vaccine rollout have been eligible.

Mr Merlino said a faster vaccine rollout across the country may have helped avoid the current situation.

LIVE UPDATES: All the new restrictions as Victoria goes into lockdown

"We also know that our nation's vaccine rollout has been slower than we'd hoped. And if more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a different set of circumstances. Sadly, we're not," he said.

"If we make the wrong choice now, if we wait too long, if we hesitate too much, this thing will get away from us. And lives will be at risk."

9News understands the acting premier expressed those sentiments in a conversation with Prime Minister Scott Morrison this morning.

https://twitter.com/jekearsley/status/1397724775045206017

Those aged 40-49 can book an appointment to receive the vaccine by calling the Coronavirus Hotline on 1800 675 398 or online.

Immediately following the announcement, calls to the hotline were not going through due to a high volume of calls.

https://twitter.com/VicGovDH/status/1397733787786694656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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