NSW and Queensland will receive an injection of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine doses as both states battle outbreaks of the highly contagious Delta strain.
There are growing fears the majority of Australians could soon be again locked down after eight new cases in Victoria sparked alarm.
Sydney's dire situation continues to worsen with another 262 local cases reported on Thursday.
Five people over 60 died, taking the national toll to 932. Four of them had not received any vaccine while one had a single AstraZeneca dose in late May.
NSW will receive 183,690 accelerated Pfizer doses in the next two weeks with the vast majority being sent to the epicentre of Sydney's outbreak in the southwestern suburbs.
Queensland will be sent an extra 112,000 doses over the next two weeks, bringing forward its allocation.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said pumping more vaccines into those jurisdictions would come at other states' expense.
"That would be dangerous, because the whole program needs to go forward," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
Mr Morrison insists lockdowns will be the main tool to conquer coronavirus outbreaks until vaccination rates meet nationally agreed targets of 70 and 80 per cent.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has pushed vaccination rates as a factor in whether restrictions will be lifted at the end of this month.
The prime minister is now praising state governments that lock down fast and hard despite senior members of his government lashing Victoria last year.
"The primary tool to end the lockdown in Sydney is the success of the lockdown in Sydney," Mr Morrison said.
Australia has vaccinated almost 21 per cent of its population aged 16 and over but continues to lag behind most of the world.
A record 221,859 doses were administered in the past 24 hours taking the total past 13 million.
Mr Morrison labelled Labor's plan for all fully vaccinated people to receive one-off $300 payments a bad idea but flagged greater freedoms as incentives.
He will discuss potential options with state and territory leaders at a national cabinet meeting on Friday.
"The best incentive is this - you're less likely to get the virus," the prime minister said.
"You're less likely to transmit the virus. You're less likely to get seriously ill. You're less likely to die."
The NSW government has issued a desperate plea for residents to receive any coronavirus jab available and is considering its own incentive scheme.
"They involve getting vaccinated to be able to do the things all of us want to be able to do," Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
A NSW traveller tested positive to coronavirus while quarantining in Tasmania but has since returned to the mainland.
© AAP 2021