Changes in Victoria COVID vaccine rollout with Pfizer and Moderna available for over 60 years

The changes introduced to the vaccine rollout in Victoria will make mRNA vaccines available to anyone over the age of 12.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the change was effective immediately on Monday, with Pfizer and Moderna vaccines now available to people over 60 at state-run centers.

Previously, Victorians over the age of 60 could only receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

But they will now be able to access Moderna or Pfizer with “increasingly secure” vaccine supplies.

“As we push for 70 and 80 percent double-dose and beyond, it’s time to open the doors of all of our clinics to mRNA vaccines,” Foley said.

“This change, which is now in effect, was made possible by the relative certainty we now have for Moderna and Pfizer and the extraordinary number of young people who have stepped forward over the past three and a half weeks.

“In fact, Victoria is on its way to becoming one of the most vaccinated jurisdictions in the world.”

Monday’s COVID cases

Victoria recorded a further drop in daily COVID-19 cases on Monday, with the figure falling to 1,612.

There have also been eight COVID-related deaths.

The deaths included a man in his forties, a man in his sixties, two women in his sixties, two men in their sixties and two men in their sixties.

There are currently 677 people being treated for COVID in hospital, including 133 in intensive care, 94 of whom are on ventilators.

As of Sunday, 34,279 doses of the vaccine were administered and Victoria now has 19,012 active cases of the virus.

The state’s biggest COVID-19 day was Saturday, which had 1,965 cases.