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Twenty-five Victorians have died with COVID-19, a toll record in the state's third wave, prompting Premier Daniel Andrews to warn the outbreak is not over.

Victoria also recorded 1923 new local infections on Wednesday and the death toll from the current outbreak has risen to 272.

Mr Andrews said the "significant number" of deaths showed the pandemic "is not over".

"For people of all ages, all backgrounds, all circumstances, this can be deadly. The greatest protection against that is to get vaccinated," he told reporters on Thursday morning.

He said more detail on the deaths would be revealed at the daily COVID-19 update later on Thursday.

There are 746 people in hospital, with the seven-day average at 780. Of those, 137 are in intensive care with 85 on a ventilator.

The state is managing 22,189 active infections.

About 77 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and over are now fully vaccinated after 22,189 doses were administered at state-run hubs on Wednesday, while 82,648 tests were processed.

The latest figures come as health authorities warn there's a high risk of thunderstorm asthma in the state's southwest, Wimmera and Mallee districts, while Melbourne may be moderately affected.

The combination of high grass pollen levels, severe thunderstorms and strong winds on Thursday meant a "large number of people" may develop asthma symptoms quickly, the health department said.

Mr Andrews urged Victorians with asthma to be careful and follow their health plans, as he said there was already pressure on the health system due to COVID-19.

"There's pressure across the board because we do have many more people in hospital with this wildly contagious virus. That's going to be with us for a while," he said.

"Let's not put more pressure on those people than they're already dealing with."

Those at risk are being advised to avoid being outdoors during storms and the winds that precede them, and remember to take preventive medication.

A thunderstorm asthma event in 2016 killed nine people and resulted in thousands more being hospitalised.

Meanwhile, half a million people are being urged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as statewide restrictions are set to ease once again.

From 6pm Friday, people in metropolitan Melbourne will be allowed to travel to the regions and interstate, masks will not be required outdoors and non-essential retail stores will be able to open.

But about 500,000 Victorians have yet to receive their first vaccine dose, with only 83 per cent of people aged in their 20s getting a first jab.

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Australians will be able to buy rapid antigen tests along with the rest of their groceries when they become available on supermarket shelves next week.

The tests, which give a COVID-19 result within about 15 minutes and can be used at home or work without a healthcare worker's help, can be sold from November 1.

Nine types of test have been approved by the medical regulator, with more in the final stages of review.

Coles will stock the Hough Pharma COVID Antigen Nasal Test in packs of two and five on its shelves from next week, a company spokesperson says.

Coles' online shoppers will also be able to add rapid tests to their carts in Victoria, NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory, the ACT and Tasmania.

A Hough Pharma two-pack costs around $30 and a five-pack $50.

Supermarket rival Woolworths is looking to stock approved self-testing kits in selected stores from early November, a Woolworths Group spokesperson said.

Online Woolies-run digital health and wellness business HealthyLife will start shipping the Hough Pharma tests from Monday, with customers already able to pre-order them.

However, state regulations mean they can't ship them to South Australia or Western Australia.

The tests will also be rolled out at petrol and convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Ampol and Coles Express through November.

They'll largely be stocking the Hough Pharma brand test, Australian Association of Convenience Stores chief executive Theo Foukkare says.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday said the government had no current plans to make rapid tests free through Medicare.

There are no constraints on where the tests can be sold, though there are some restrictions around advertising.

Monash University research fellow Michael Lydeamore says rapid antigen testing has worked well overseas, especially where efforts are no longer directed at tracking every case.

"As we enter the next stage of the pandemic, rapid antigen tests will help us work out quickly what can stay open, and help us get a quicker understanding of the disease dynamics in play," Dr Lydeamore said.

Health Minister Greg Hunt on Wednesday emphasised the less-accurate tests were not a replacement for standard PCR tests.

"It's an additional support and an additional screening tool rather than a pure diagnostic tool," Mr Hunt told reporters.

The tests analyse a nasal swab or saliva for the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Anyone who gets a positive result should immediately follow up with a PCR test, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

They're most reliable when when used by person who has COVID-19 symptoms.

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Tyrone May will be forced to front the Penrith board next week in a bid to save his Panthers career.

May was stood down by the club last week following his conduct on social media in the wake of the club's grand final win over South Sydney.

The Penrith board met on Wednesday where they issued the 25-year-old with a show cause notice.

"At today's meeting of the Panthers board of directors it was determined May's conduct constituted a serious breach of his NRL playing contract," the club said in a statement.

"In accordance with disciplinary protocol, May will have the opportunity to appear before the board next Wednesday before a sanction is imposed."

The utility was fined $7500 by the NRL for the post which "did not align with the values of the game" as he made reference to his conviction for recording an intimate image without consent.

A post showed a photo of May alongside coach Ivan Cleary outside a court in 2019 captioned with lyrics by rapper Drake which read: "And the dirt that they threw on my name turned to soil and I grew up out it. Time for y'all to figure out what y'all gon' do about it."

May was lucky to avoid jail at the time and missed the entirety of the 2019 season after being stood down by the NRL.

Magistrate Robyn Denes described his behaviour as "morally reprehensible" and sentenced him to 300 hours of community service.

May, who debuted for the club in 2017, has scored 10 tries in 56 games for the Panthers.

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Australia's population-wide coronavirus vaccine booster shot program could start in less than two weeks after the medicines regulator gave the green light.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Wednesday gave provisional approval for Australians 18 and over to receive a top-up dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation is now preparing advice on how boosters should be rolled out across the community.

Aged care residents and people with disabilities are expected to receive third jabs as a priority.

Health Minister Greg Hunt is confident boosters will be available for all people who were vaccinated at least six months ago from November 8 at the latest.

Mr Hunt said Australia would have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world and roll out boosters before most other nations.

"It's a universal booster, and so it's available for people who've had Pfizer, AstraZeneca or Moderna," he told reporters in Canberra.

TGA boss John Skerritt said a recent study on 1000 people showed a third jab increased vaccine efficacy to 96 per cent.

"Boosters may give additional protection against mild COVID and they may have an impact on having transmission," he said.

"We do know that in the elderly, and people of various shades of immunocompromised that an additional dose is particularly valuable, and it may provide reassurance for frontline health workers."

By January 1, about 1.6 million people will have been six months or more after their two-dose course.

There will be no requirement to have a booster shot but it will be added to the national immunisation register.

Professor Skerritt said while three shots of vaccines for some diseases offered almost lifelong protection, it was unclear if coronavirus was the same.

"Unfortunately, I wasn't issued with a crystal ball when I got this job," he said.

"The answer is we'll have to wait and see."

Boosters will be available through GPs, pharmacies, states and territories through the existing rollout.

Leading epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws said third shots were proven to work well.

"There's fantastic evidence now that your booster shot really does supercharge your immune system to get that vaccine efficacy up high," she told the Nine Network.

'There are many people who will benefit from this."

© AAP 2021