'Urgency', more doses, clear communication: states' demands ahead of national cabinet

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the Commonwealth had given the territory greater certainty around supply of the Pfizer vaccine recently, but there was more needed to allow the local government to make further plans about new mass vaccination hubs.

More pressure has been placed on the Pfizer supply since the decision last week to limit the AstraZeneca vaccine to people above the age of 60.

"What we continue to need is really clear advice on what those continued supplies look like, recognising they face some uncertainties themselves in terms of the supply, but also what their plan is in terms of things like when they're considering bringing on pharmacies, what their plan is for rollout through general practice, so that we can all really plan for the next phase of the rollout," Ms Stephen-Smith said on ABC Radio.

Pharmacies and GPs needed "plenty of notice" about when they would receive Pfizer doses, she said, calling for certainty to allow for a more efficient rollout.

"It also means we can give clear messages to the community," she said.

"What we don't want is the community being confused, and then you see people spending a lot of time having to make different calls, not really knowing where they should be going."

Ms Stephen-Smith didn't follow the lead of her Victorian counterpart in calling the rollout a "shambles" but said there was a point in recent weeks where the ACT had been "surprised" by its predicted allocation of Pfizer doses, before being handed an increase in doses by the federal government.

"We're not seeing a great deal of vaccine hesitancy here in the ACT," Ms Stephen-Smith said.

But she warned that without an increase in supply, the ACT may have to cut back on new appointments in coming weeks to ensure there was enough supply for second doses.

There had been confusing messages from the federal government on whether states and territories should be keeping back doses for second jabs, Ms Stephen-Smith said.

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Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino said his state wanted a plan that included more doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which is now the major plank of the rollout.

"We want to see a sense of urgency," Mr Merlino said.

"We want to see an acknowledgement that this is a race and we want to see that they are procuring and supplying greater numbers of vaccines to not only Victoria but the rest of our country."

Mr Merlino said he welcomed the appointment of General Lieutenant John Frewen, but under the current plan from the federal government, there would be fewer doses for his state in Victoria and August.

"We simply have not received enough supply of the vaccine, which is the Commonwealth's responsibility," he said when asked about supply for second doses.

"We have not received enough supply of the vaccine to ensure that we can both meet demand for first doses as well as delivering the second doses."

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told 2GB she will also be talking about the number of vaccine doses going to her state.

"I know other states have received a top up [of vaccines] and I just want to make sure we get our fair share," she said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will chair the video meeting from quarantine at The Lodge, and General Lietenant Frewen will provide an update.

"They're all getting additional doses. I mean, it scales up again in July when the additional Pfizer doses go out," Mr Morrison said on 2GB.

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