The rollout of COVID-19 vaccines across the country will dominate discussion at an emergency meeting of national cabinet today.
State and territory leaders will hash out further details of the rollout after the federal government accepted advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (ATAGI) to increase the age limit for the AstraZeneca vaccine to 60.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the Pfizer vaccine would now be accessible to everybody aged 40-59 in a bid to reduce the number of rare blood clotting cases in that age group.
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9News understands Pfizer doses will be allocated to states and territories today, with population size and current outbreaks being taken into consideration.
NSW, Victoria and Western Australia are expected to push for a larger supply of the Pfizer vaccine.
The demand for Pfizer has increased after the recommended age was lifted.
It comes as NSW residents remain on high alert as a cluster grows in Sydney, and Western Australia is expected to move to phase five COVID-19 restrictions this week.
Most restrictions have now been lifted in Melbourne, including a rule stopping people from travelling more than 25 kilometres from home.
Clinical trials will begin in Victoria in November this year of Australia's first locally-developed vaccine.
It will use the mRNA technology found in both Pfizer and Moderna.
Victoria's Acting Premier James Merlino said the government was investing $5 million in support for the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (MIPS) to manufacture doses of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine for trials.
"This is an incredibly important, incredibly exciting step that we are making in our nation," Mr Merlino said.
"This will get us on a pathway to local manufacturing capability."
The investment is the first to be made from the Victorian Government's landmark $50 million fund to develop the state's mRNA manufacturing capability.
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