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Live Breaking News: Victoria covid lockdown updates and Melbourne cases

Daniel Andrews has just announced that young people in Victoria will be eligible for Pfizer from tomorrow. Follow us live.

Ben GrahamBen Graham
@bengrahamjourno
less than 2 min read
August 24, 2021 - 11:55AM
Dan Andrews.
Dan Andrews.

Welcome to our live Covid coverage, looking at the situation in Victoria.

Daniel Andrews has announced that young people in Victoria will be eligible for Pfizer from tomorrow morning -when some 830,000 first dose appointments will be opened up.

It comes as the state recorded 50 new cases today - which is a welcome drop from yesterday's 71 - but 10 new mystery cases were picked up and 39 were in the community while infectious.

Of the 50 local cases recorded, 40 are linked to current outbreaks and 10 are under investigation. 11 cases have been in quarantine throughout their infectious period.

Despite today's drop, there has been a fourfold rise in mystery cases in the past week and hundreds of infected children - meaning the planned end of "short and sharp" lockdown on September 2 now looks very unlikely.

Follow our live coverage below. We also have NSW blog which you can follow here.

Updates

What the vax expansion means for Victorians

The expansion means that all Victorian adults can get Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines at the state's vaccine hubs from tomorrow.

"The change means that from Wednesday 25 August, anyone aged 18 to 59 will be eligible to receive either Pfizer or AstraZeneca — with people aged 16 to 17 able to receive the Pfizer vaccine," the government said in a statement.

"Those aged 60 and over will continue to receive AstraZeneca.

"Anyone aged 18 to 39 who has a current booking for AstraZeneca from Wednesday 25th August who would prefer to receive Pfizer, will not need to cancel or change your booking – you will be offered Pfizer when you arrive for your appointment, unless you would prefer to receive AstraZeneca."

AstraZeneca will still be available for those who choose to provide consent and discuss the vaccination with a medical professional, the government said.

16-39 year olds in Victoria can get Pfizer

From 7am tomorrow, some 830,000 first dose appointments will be opened up.

All 16-39 year-olds will be eligible for Pfizer from tomorrow too.

Mr Andrews said there are about 1.2 million people in the group the vaccine will be opened up to, but there are about 450,000 Pfizer shots available.

More than 49,000 vax appointments available

The Victorian premier is speaking now.

He said there will be some significant vaccine announcements for the state today.

However, he stressed there were 49,000 vaccine appointments available this week.

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Here's the big Pfizer announcement for Victoria

From 7am tomorrow, some 830,000 first dose appointments will be opened up.

All 16-39 year-olds will be eligible for Pfizer from tomorrow too.

Mr Andrews said there are about 1.2 million people in the group the vaccine will be opened up to, but there are about 450,000 Pfizer shots available.

No word on Victoria yet

We still don't know when the Victorian premier will be speaking, but we will let you know when we find out.

New Zealand reports 41 new cases

That brings the total cases linked to the Auckland outbreak to 148.

New Zealand is in lockdown until at least Friday night. Auckland is locked down until at least Tuesday next week.

NSW hits six million jabs

The premier says there will be an announcement on what this means for restrictions on Thursday or Friday.

753 new cases in NSW

Of the locally acquired cases, 134 are linked to a known case or cluster – 108 are household contacts and 26 are close contacts – and the source of infection for 619 cases is under investigation.

Seventy-three cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and 22 were in isolation for part of their infectious period.

Forty-nine cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of 609 cases remains under investigation.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/live-breaking-news-victoria-covid-lockdown-updates-and-melbourne-cases/live-coverage/86186eeb6da1371fd1cc86b6a8066273