Victoria’s hotline for booking Covid vaccines crashes after being inundated with calls

With people unable to get through despite booking requirement, some clinics across state begin accepting walk-in vaccinations for under-50s

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The hotline for booking a Covid-19 vaccine was unavailable for hours following the Victorian government's decision to open up vaccinations to those aged over 40.

As the acting premier, James Merlino, announced Victoria would go into a seven-day lockdown to get on top of a growing number of cases of Covid-19, he announced people aged between 40 and 49 would be able to get the Pfizer vaccine at state-run clinics from Friday.