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Australia's health minister believes the nation is winning the battle against coronavirus vaccination misinformation after daily doses reached a record high.
While the rollout remains one of the slowest in the developed world, more than 200,000 people rolled up their sleeves for a jab in the past 24 hours.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the latest federal government data showed 77 per cent of the population was intending on receiving a vaccine.
"As time has gone on, the number of people intending to be vaccinated has gone up," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.
"That is an important message that those people who are spreading the misinformation or anti-vax materials are losing the argument."
Jab rates are rising but just 17.7 per cent of people aged 16 and over are fully vaccinated against the disease, which is becoming rampant in Sydney.
Labor's health spokesman Mark Butler said Australia ranked dead last among major economies.
"Scott Morrison adopted a wait-and-see strategy on vaccines that meant while countries like the US, Canada, Japan, European countries, signed deals with Pfizer as early as June and July last year," he said.
"He didn't sign a deal with Pfizer until Christmas Eve. That is why we are so far behind the rest of the world."
NSW recorded 239 new local cases of coronavirus on Thursday in another outbreak-high infection spike.
The spiralling situation has sparked a lockdown that will extend until at least the end of next month.
NSW Police has requested 300 defence troops to help patrol the streets of Australia's biggest city.
The prime minister is urging all Australians to bring forward their second AstraZeneca jab as crisis engulfs his home city.
Mr Morrison said people could receive a second shot within four weeks, a gap approved by medical regulators, rather than the 12 weeks recommended for maximum effectiveness.
"I need to get the whole country vaccinated as well and the sooner we get there and it can be done safely then we should," he told 3AW radio.
Mr Morrison is expecting everyone keen for a coronavirus jab to have been offered one by Christmas.
The federal government has missed several of its own vaccination targets including the initial benchmark of all people being given the opportunity for a first dose by October.
Friday's national cabinet meeting will discuss Doherty Institute modelling and Treasury economic analysis of vaccination rates needed to end lockdowns and reopen Australia.
But a concrete target is not expected until after multiple discussions between federal, state and territory leaders.
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AstraZeneca's COVID-19 shot did not increase the instances of rare blood clots with low platelets in people after the second dose, a study published in the Lancet medical journal shows.
The data found that the estimated rate of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after the second dose of the vaccine, Vaxzevria, was 2.3 per million in those inoculated, comparable to the typical rate seen in those who have not been vaccinated, AstraZeneca said.
The same rate was 8.1 after the first dose, it added.
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Five weeks into Sydney's lockdown, NSW is opening its vaccination hubs to younger adults wanting AstraZeneca jabs.
All adults will be able to book a vaccine at a state-run hub from Friday or seek out the jab at participating pharmacies from Wednesday.
"This is positive news in line with the health advice," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday.
"We know the vaccine protects against serious illness, but also reduces how contagious you are and that is really critical moving forward."
The move comes days after the nation's expert vaccine panel said all adults in greater Sydney "should strongly consider" taking any vaccine, given the risk of catching COVID.
Sydney has been battling a spiralling outbreak since mid-June, recording nearly 2400 cases.
NSW leaders have been dialling up their rhetoric for weeks around the AstraZeneca vaccine, encouraging the hesitant to push through and get it.
But that required booking through a GP.
The state's top doctor said she had no concerns about AstraZeneca, having got it herself and recommended it for her husband and mother-in-law.
"The risks of AstraZeneca are infinitesimally small compared to the benefits," Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said last week.
State-run clinics administered almost 25,000 jabs on Monday, meaning 30 per cent of the state's population has now had their first jab.
About one-in-eight NSW residents have had both doses.
The current outbreak began in eastern Sydney on June 16 but exploded once it seeded in southwestern Sydney.
Compared to Greater Sydney, the five local government areas that are the particular focus of current restrictions - Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown - have a younger population and larger households.
The premier urged people make August the month they get their first jab.
"We know the strategy of restrictions and vaccine will be our recipe for freedom," Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday.
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South Australia will end its COVID-19 lockdown on schedule after reporting no new virus infections.
Premier Steven Marshall says the result is a "huge relief" and will allow the shutdown to end at one minute past midnight on Wednesday.
"So a massive thank you to everybody. We acknowledge how tough this week has been," he said.
"We don't put these restrictions in place lightly, but if we didn't we would be in a very different situation."
When the lockdown lifts, SA will keep a range of heightened restrictions including a general density requirement of one person to every four square metres.
Masks will be required in high-risk settings, such as aged care centres and personal care services, in medical services, on public transport and in all indoor public places, including supermarkets.
The wider use of masks is strongly encouraged, including in workplaces.
All food and drink consumption must be while seated and dancing and singing remain banned.
Family gatherings will be limited to 10 people although weddings and funerals can have up to 50.
Schools will reopen on Wednesday and students will also be required to wear masks.
The new restrictions will remain in place for at least a week with the resumption of competitive sport delayed for a further week.
With no new cases, SA's Modbury cluster of coronavirus cases stands at 19 confirmed infections with 11 of those linked to the Tenafeate Creek winery near One Tree Hill.
It began with an 81-year-old man who recently arrived in Australia from Argentina and was quarantined in Sydney before travelling to Adelaide, where he tested positive.
Genomic testing has confirmed the man became infected while in Sydney, not while he was in Argentina.
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Photo: South Australian Premier Steven Marshall (AAP Image/Kelly Barnes)
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