Children fastest vaccinated age group

Health Minister Greg Hunt says more than 900,000 children have had their first jab, amounting to 40 per cent of the cohort.

"Very significantly, some schools and some school districts are holding school-based vaccination programs and if your child hasn't been vaccinated, please allow them to be vaccinated," he told reporters on Monday.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd expects a spike in COVID-19 cases as schools begin to return in some states this week as rapid antigen testing ramps up.

"With schools returning and many children doing regular rapid antigen tests, we do expect to see a rise in the number of reported cases," he said.

"This is because although infection with the Omicron variant can lead to moderate or severe illness in some people, in most people it causes mild symptoms or no symptoms at all - especially in children."

Mr Hunt said health experts continue to review whether the interval for the paediatric dose should be shortened from the current eight week interval in the context of the Omicron outbreak.

Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Jane Halton says COVID-safe measures taken by schools - including hygiene practices and rapid antigen testing - would make a difference in reducing transmission.

"That should give parents confidence, particularly using rapid antigen tests," Prof Halton told the Nine Network.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell says the state government has ticked every box in terms of managing transmission risks, including ventilation, vaccination, mask wearing, rapid antigen tests and separation of year groups.

"We have to remember that COVID is a mild illness in children, we have every safeguard and it should give parents every comfort," she told the Nine Network.

Acting federal education minister Stuart Robert said modelling indicated there would be an increase in transmission, but didn't reveal what the expected increase would be.

"The key thing is it's safe for kids to go back to school. We have to get back to normal," he told Sky News.

On the same day some students return, another 4.5 million Australians have become eligible for the booster shot as the time span between second and third doses reduces to three months.

The head of the COVID vaccination task force Lieutenant General John Frewen said 7.7 million Australians, just shy of 70 per cent of those eligible, had come forward for their booster shot.

"It's a very dangerous pandemic, vaccination has been a really important part of helping keep Australians safe," he told the Nine Network.

"Boosters are absolutely essential. There's plenty of opportunities to do that straight away."

Any fourth doses would be primarily for aged care residents, the immunocompromised and those working with vulnerable Australians, the health minister said.

Mr Hunt also added more than 2.4 million rapid antigen tests had been handed out to over 563,000 concession cardholders - double what the government was expecting under the scheme.

But Labor leader Anthony Albanese said tests were not there for people who needed them and a failure to plan ahead was increasing the cost of the pandemic.

"Each failure from this government, whether it be the slow rollout of the vaccine which led to the slow rollout of booster shots (or) whether it be the failure to have rapid antigen tests being available, leads to more costs," he said.

It comes as deaths continue to climb, with 27 more in NSW and eight in Victoria in the latest figures.

The deaths come amongst more than 13,000 new infections in NSW and more than 10,000 in Victoria on Monday.

There were also more than 500 new COVID cases in Tasmania.

Australian Associated Press