All Australians over 50 have access to coronavirus vaccines as health experts move to reassure people the AstraZeneca jab is safe.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
From Monday, people in that age group can receive shots at general practice respiratory clinics and state and territory vaccination hubs.
On May 17, the vaccination program will be expanded to GP surgeries with up to 15.8 million doses available during this phase of the rollout.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said regulators and experts were continuing to look carefully at every report of adverse reactions including blood clots.
"My clear message is that the benefit of the vaccine outweighs the risk. People are seeing what's happening in India," he told ABC radio on Monday.
Professor Kelly said the rollout's objective was to keep Australia safe in navigating the path out of the pandemic.
"An outbreak could happen in Australia so please do not hesitate," he said.
"This is not a compulsory vaccine so people have their choice but waiting until the end of the year is not advised."
National COVID-19 Commissioner Jane Halton said Australia needed to catch up on its vaccination rollout to avoid a major outbreak.
"We need to get on with this," she told the Nine Network.
"The only way that we get out of the pandemic is that we either get the disease or get vaccinated."
Professor Kelly was coy about reports Australia has been in talks with French biotech giant Valneva about its coronavirus vaccine.
"We're continuing to have discussions with a range of companies around the world about purchasing any of those," he said.
Labor has criticised the government for its narrow vaccine portfolio with AstraZeneca and Pfizer the only ones in use, while the unapproved Novavax is expected to join the rollout later in the year.
Australian Associated Press
