Health Minister Greg Hunt insists there will be enough COVID-19 vaccine doses for children aged five to 11 as the rollout for young Australians officially begins on Monday.
Mr Hunt says three million doses will be available over January for the 2.3 million children eligible for a jab.
More than 80 per cent of Australians aged 12 to 15 have had two doses, he noted.
“That’s an important sign as we go into the children’s vaccine program,” Mr Hunt said in Canberra on Sunday.
But Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said parents are anxious because they can’t get appointments for their children.
Mr Hunt conceded not every child will be able to get their jab on a particular day as practices only have a certain volume because 8000 vaccination points around Australia also have to be supplied.
This is to make sure people in rural and regional areas, non-English-speaking areas and lower social economic areas have the same access.
Mr Hunt said more than 6000 GP offices will receive child vaccine doses, as well as more than 150 commonwealth vaccination clinics, more than 115 indigenous medical clinics, 2000 pharmacies and, at this stage, more than 250 participating state clinics.
“So multiple options and the orders … are well ahead of schedule,” Mr Hunt said.
“We’re going through record delivery last week and this week in terms of total vaccines and that includes the children’s vaccine.”
It comes as concern grows over relaxed isolation rules impacting transport workers in NSW and Queensland after the prime minister convened an urgent meeting with his top ministers and bureaucrats on Sunday.
The two states are trying to ease pressure on supply chains that have resulted in bare supermarket shelves, amid concerns this could extend to the supply of rapid antigen tests, with tens of millions due to arrive in the country in the coming weeks.
But Transport Workers Union national secretary Michael Kaine said allowing close contacts back to work earlier will do more harm than good.
“Close contacts are more likely now than ever to have the virus, because of Omicron and definition of close contacts,” he told the ABC on Monday.
“The concern is they will be required to work. That means you have people (who are) the most likely to have the virus in workplaces.
“There is a real danger here that this might make matters worse.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Australians needed to accept the Omicron variant was everywhere.
“Everybody accepts now that the variant is everywhere and we just have to get on with our lives,” he told the Seven Network.
“We are dealing with (supermarket staff shortages) and making sure we keep people at work because that’s how we keep food on the shelf.”
NSW on Sunday recorded 30,062 cases and its highest number of deaths since the pandemic began, at 16 fatalities.
Victoria posted a further 44,155 infections and four deaths.
Elsewhere, Queensland reported 18,000 new cases, Tasmania 1406 and the ACT 1039.
Queensland also announced it will delay the start of the school year by two weeks as a result of increased virus infections.
By Dominic Giannini in Canberra
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