The Queensland government says any delay in its coronavirus vaccine rollout will be caused by federal supply issues rather than its own distribution efforts.
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The federal government has dumped its target of giving all Australians their first vaccine dose by the end of October after authorities recommended people under the age of 50 get the Pfizer vaccine instead of AstraZeneca jab because of blood clotting concerns.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath says the state has already completed vaccinating about 125,000 people in the 1a cohort, which includes frontline healthcare and quarantine workers.
The state is still vaccinating more than one million in the 1b cohort, which includes health care workers and critical and high risk workers such as defence, police, fire, emergency services and meat processing.
Ms D'Ath has previously promised that 1b would be fully vaccinated by mid-June, but she says supply issues could impact the target.
"We've said all along that our rollout is contingent on supply, so as long as that supply keeps coming we will keep vaccinating Queenslanders," she told reporters.
"We've already done our 1a group, we're in the stage of doing 1b, we will keep doing 1b as quickly as we possibly can subject to supply."
The health minister was confident that state's vaccine rollout can adapt to the new advice even though the Queensland currently has only six Pfizer vaccine hubs in operation.
She said the government was working out how to distribute Pfizer beyond the hubs and to train staff how to handle the vaccine.
"That's all possible, we're very confident we can do that, we can do it successfully, and we are already putting in place those processes," Ms D'Ath said.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the biggest issue was consistent supply rather than handling and administering the Pfizer vaccine.
She said health staff needed training in cold chain storage and diluting the Pfizer vaccine, which isn't required for the AstraZeneca jab.
"So it is a significantly different vaccine, which is not an issue, it just means people need training for it," Dr Young said.
Queensland reported one new case of COVID-19, who was already in hotel quarantine after arriving from Papua New Guinea, on Monday.
The state also added a historic case to the tally of the recent outbreak in southeast Queensland and northern NSW.
The woman had attended a hen's party in Byron Bay in March which was linked to the virus spreading to 13 people.
Australian Associated Press
