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FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2021, file photo, vials for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are displayed on a tray at a clinic set up by the New Hampshire National Guard in the parking lot of Exeter, N.H., High School. An untold number of Americans have managed to get COVID-19 booster shots even though the U.S. government hasn't approved them. They're doing so by taking advantage of the nation’s vaccine surplus and loose tracking of those who have been fully vaccinated. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Vials for the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are displayed on a tray at a clinic (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File) 

Australians could have a third coronavirus vaccine available in coming weeks with Moderna expected to join the sluggish rollout.

The company is also considering using Australia as a trial country for children as young as six months if the medicines regulator grants approval.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the government ultimately wanted people of all ages included in the rollout.

"Moderna's looking at a global trial, Australia may be part of that, but that will be subject to all of the technical and scientific advice that needs to be provided," he told Sky News on Monday.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration is expected to approve Moderna for over-16s in coming weeks with around one million doses slated to arrive next month.

That will ramp up to three million in October, while bigger Pfizer shipments are also on the way with two million doses a week set to land from September.

While the rollout is considered one of the slowest in the developed world, Senator Birmingham said Australia was slightly above the global average.

"There will be a very strong supply coming to build on what is already a record rate of vaccination happening now," he said.

Australia has fully vaccinated 22 per cent of people aged 16 and over.

Senator Birmingham is confident the nation can achieve high enough vaccination coverage to ease interstate travel restrictions and reunite families at Christmas.

Infectious disease expert Nick Coatsworth, who is a former deputy chief medical officer, is urging doctors not to block younger people from receiving AstraZeneca.

"If someone comes to them saying they're prepared to accept the risk, then for sure, they should have access to the vaccine," he told the Nine Network.

The expert immunisation panel ATAGI strongly recommends people in outbreak areas like Sydney consider having AstraZeneca.

Pfizer is the preferred vaccine for people under 60 but supplies are short because it is manufactured overseas.

Anyone who provides informed consent can receive AstraZeneca which has links to an extremely rare blood clotting condition.

Children aged 12 to 15 who are Indigenous, have underlying health conditions or live in remote communities are now able to receive the Pfizer vaccine.

ATAGI is considering broadening the rollout to all children in that age group.

The coronavirus crisis in NSW continues with 283 new local infections and one death reported on Monday.

Tamworth will be locked down after an infectious person visited multiple places in the regional centre.

Victoria recorded 11 new cases but none in regional parts of the state which will be released from lockdown on Tuesday.

Southeast Queensland's lockdown ended on Sunday, but Cairns is now under heavy restrictions after a man spent 10 days in the community while infectious.

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Regional Victoria will be released from lockdown at 11:59pm on Monday night.

Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the regions will return to the COVID-safe settings in place prior to the state's sixth lockdown, meaning schools, retail and hospitality can reopen.

Home visits will remain banned, while masks are still compulsory both indoors and outdoors.

"This is very positive news and speaks to the fact that we do have a degree of containment around these cases, there is a degree of localisation if you like to these cases," Mr Andrews told reporters on Monday.

"Pleasingly we haven't seen cases in regional Victoria over these last four or five days."

It comes as Victoria recorded 11 new local cases of coronavirus, all of which are linked to known outbreaks.

One case was in quarantine throughout their infectious period but Mr Andrews anticipates this trend will improve.

"We're starting to see now the first of the new cases coming through that have been tucked away, no risk to public health, they've been in iso for 100 per cent of their infectious period. That's the system working as it should," he said.

Some 38,987 tests were processed in the 24 hours to Monday morning, while 17,101 Victorians received a COVID-19 vaccine at one of the state-run hubs.

There are now more than 170 exposure sites across the state, including the Joan Kirner Women's and Children's Hospital in St Albans, which was visited by a positive case for six hours on Friday.

The state's vaccination program has also ramped up, with Australia's first drive-through clinic opened at a former Bunnings warehouse in Melton.

The facility is initially expected to administer 10,000 vaccine doses a week, with hopes it will be the first in a series of drive-through hubs.

All Victorian adults will also have the opportunity to get the AstraZeneca jab at nine of the state's mass vaccination centres from Monday, while children aged 12-15 with underlying health conditions or of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent will be allowed to receive Pfizer doses.

Victoria recorded 11 COVID-19 cases on Sunday and 29 on Saturday.

For exposure sites visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites

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Photo: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (AAP Image/Erik Anderson)  

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Vaccinate to Educate

As Greater Sydney's COVID-19 lockdown enters its seventh week, thousands of year 12 students from eight coronavirus-hit council areas in western and southwestern Sydney will get a Pfizer vaccine jab.

Starting on Monday, the mass vaccination push will continue all week at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney Olympic Park until the 24,000 students are vaccinated.

NSW Health vaccinated almost 2000 supermarket and food distribution workers with AstraZeneca on a day it dubbed "Super Sunday" at the vaccination hub at Sydney Olympic Park. 

Meanwhile, 12 suburbs in the Penrith local government are now subject to tougher lockdown rules as COVID-19 continues its spread west.

Residents in the far western fringe of Sydney will be living under the same restrictions that apply to eight other local government areas in the COVID hotspots.

Overnight NSW Health issued alerts for dozens of COVID exposure sites, including five venues in Tamworth in the New England region.

Meanwhile, Premier Gladys Berejiklian is copping friendly fire over the decision to make vaccinations mandatory for tradies and construction workers.

Backbencher Tanya Davies, whose western Sydney electorate takes in those living with tightened restrictions, issued a statement on Monday objecting to the "no jab no job" rule introduced on the weekend for her constituents who are tradies.

"Employees should not be forced into COVID-19 vaccination. This is an assault on an individuals' freedoms and civil liberties," she said.

"The people of western Sydney are being discriminated against, penalised and treated like second class citizens based on their vaccination status."

Ms Davies said she was "leading the campaign to legislate that there can be no blanket mandate for COVID-19 vaccinations and to ensure that nobody will be discriminated against based on their COVID-19 vaccination status".

Small Business Minister Damien Tudehope has admitted that Services NSW has been swamped by applications from businesses requesting emergency financial help.

Just 44,000 small businesses had been paid from about 193,000 applicants so all applications were now being automatically paid, he said.

"What we've done is freed up the process to make sure that we automatically process the grants. We will worry about the fraud later," he told Sydney radio 2GB on Monday.

Meanwhile , the HSC students getting the Pfizer vaccine this week from the eight council hotspot areas won't be returning to the classroom from August 16, as was originally intended.

Year 12 students from other parts of Sydney will return to school on August 16 but all school assessments and trial HSC exams will take place remotely.

NSW recorded 262 new local COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, at least 72 of which were in the community while infectious.

The outbreak has killed at least 28 people.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Sunday reiterated vaccination was the primary means by which to bring the pandemic to an end.

While NSW could not consider returning to pre-pandemic freedoms until it reached 70 per cent vaccination coverage, Ms Berejiklian said some restrictions could be eased with a 50 per cent rate.

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Image Credit: Phil Roeder / Flickr

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A less than overwhelming roll-out to a planned anti-Covid-19 protest on the state's South Coast.

Social media posts called on "all freedom warriors" to the rally at Kiama in the Shoalhaven's north, "to let their voices be heard and awaken the masses".

Member for Kiama Gareth Ward condemned the organisers.

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The NSW Police Public Order Riot team was deployed.

About six protestors turned up at the rally at the Kiama Lighthouse for 11-am.

Officers from the Lake Illawarra Area Command did escort a number of protestors from the scene.

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At this stage no charges have been laid.

Images: Glenn Ellard