As Alice Springs joined Sydney, Darwin, Perth and large parts of Queensland in coronavirus-induced lockdowns, the states and medical professionals took aim at Mr Morrison's surprise move to encourage younger Australians to speak with their GPs about receiving the AstraZeneca jab.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said young people shouldn't take the AstraZeneca jab because of the extremely small risk of developing blood clots.

Health Minister Greg Hunt was on Wednesday stressing that the official medical advice had not changed, with Pfizer still the preferred option for under-60s and AstraZeneca recommended for over-60s.

The government's expert vaccine panel - known as ATAGI - has for weeks recommended that under-60s can take Astrazeneca if they can't access Pfizer, the benefits outweigh the risks and they have provided informed consent.

But Mr Morrison's language on Monday night, coupled with the announcement of new legal protections for GPs who administer the jab and the addition of vaccine consults as Medicare items for under-50s, marked a shift in position which prompted an immediate surge in bookings from young Australians desperate to get a jab.

READ MORE

The federal health department has now updated its vaccine eligibility tracker to show that over-18s can consider receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine.

More than 7.65 million doses had been administered as of Tuesday, including 144,000 in the most recent 24-hour period.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the shift on AstraZeneca was not made at Monday night's national cabinet meeting of federal, state and territory leaders.

"Technically it wasn't required to be agreed by national cabinet, the call of the Prime Minister - a captain's call if you like came as a surprise to me," Mr Barr said.

"It was not a national cabinet decision, it was one that the Prime Minister has made of his own accord."

Mr Barr said the territory-run vaccination hubs would not move to offer AstraZeneca to under-60s, saying people needed consult with their GPs.

"The public health advice that's clear on the ATAGI website is that there is a risk for people under 60 but that risk can be discussed with your GP," he said.

"But it does need to be an informed discussion and you do need to give consent and it's important it's done with a GP not through a mass vaccination clinic."

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said doctors, the health department and the wider medical profession were not given advance warning.

"There's a lot of confusion out there," he told Sky News on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately the Prime Minister's thrown a little bit of a hand grenade into our vaccine program."

Dr Young said she didn't want under-40s to take AstraZeneca because she didn't want a young person to die from the vaccine.

The incidence of blood clots is about 3 in every 100,000 doses for under-50s, according to the federal health department.

"We've seen up to 49 deaths in the UK from that syndrome," Dr Young said.

"I don't want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness.

"We've had very few deaths due to COVID-19 in Australia in people under the age of 50, and wouldn't it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic died because of the vaccine?"

Mr Hunt didn't criticise Dr Young's position, saying he had "complete respect for all involved" and accepted that different views had been aired throughout pandemic.

He insisted that there was no disagreement on the medical advice underpinning Australia's vaccination program.

"The advice remains very clear that AstraZeneca is preferred for the over-60s, Pfizer is preferred for the under-60s and the ATAGI advice about informed consent is exactly what has been reaffirmed," he said.

"That has actually been the advice throughout and that remains unchanged."

Pressed on how Queensland's position could appear to be so at odds with the federal government's, Mr Hunt said: "I can't speak for individuals".

- with AAP

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: