The vaccination rate for children aged five to 11 has reached a milestone with only 25 per cent of the population still needing their first dose.
This comes as police prepare in case protesters converge on the AIS Arena on Saturday to disrupt "Superhero Day" and target children lining up for their first jab.
There are 50 people in hospital with COVID-19 as of 8pm Thursday, and three in intensive care. One person is currently under ventilation.
There were 51 people in hospital in Thursday's report, with three in intensive care and no one requiring ventilation.
The ACT recorded 489 new cases of COVID-19 for the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday, a decrease from 500 for the previous reporting period. This comes after three deaths in three days were recorded for the capital earlier this week.
The new case numbers bring the total of active cases in the ACT to 2355, down on the 2380 reported on Thursday.
The pandemic death toll remains at 31.
The new cases were diagnosed from 303 PCR tests and 186 rapid tests.
The number of ACT residents aged 12 and over who are fully vaccinated remains at 98.6 per cent.
A total of 58.9 per cent of people have received their booster, and 75.1 per cent of children aged 5-11 are vaccinated with a single dose.
Walk-in vaccinations will be available for five to 11 year olds from 9am to 5pm on Saturday at the AIS Arena, as the mass vaccination clinic is transformed into a superhero centre.
Nurses and support staff will be in superhero costumes, and little ones (and their carers) have been encouraged to dress up as their favourite superheroes, too.
Local superheroes and favourite characters will drop in throughout the day to make children feel welcome. Depending when families visit, they might run into characters from Paw Patrol, Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Canberra Capitals Cappie, Captain Starlight from the Starlight Children's Foundation or Canberra Hospital Foundation mascot Hearty.
Real life heroes from the Emergency Services Agency are joining in the fun, bringing fire safety mascot Sparky and SES mascot Paddy, plus service vehicles and fire trucks.
Superhero-level extra security and work, health and safety measures are in place to keep everyone in and around the AIS Arena clinic tomorrow safe and happy throughout the event.
Despite a video that surfaced on social media on Thursday night targeting the campaign, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the AIS will remain a "safe place for vaccinations to take place".
The Chief Minister said authorities were aware of the threat, and access points into the vaccination hub would be "well protected".
"Parents should feel confident that they're coming to superhero Saturday with their kids to get vaccinated and that will be managed safely," he said.
"Certainly people are not going to be standing over you whilst you're waiting in line. So I think it will be a safe place for vaccinations to take place".
Meanwhile, mandatory mask wearing indoors could continue throughout winter for the ACT.
This comes after the Health Minister indicated on Thursday that some public health restrictions could be relaxed in a fortnight if the COVID situation in the territory improves.
A range of public health measures could be removed by the end of the month bringing dancing back to the capital and scrapping density limits.
However, mask wearing is not expected to end anytime soon.
"Indoor mask wearing is not a big imposition on people, it's something that's very simple for all of us to do to just reduce the risk of transmission," the minister told ABC Canberra on Friday.
- For available appointments, call the ACT COVID-19 vaccination booking line on (02) 5124 7700.
Around Australia
NSW has recorded 8950 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths as NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant appear before a parliamentary inquiry into the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There are 1716 people in hospital with the virus, with 108 requiring intensive care.
The state's population aged 16 years and over is now 46.5 per cent triple-vaccinated.
Children aged between 12 and 15 years are 78.8 per cent double vaccinated with 44.6 per cent of kids aged five to 11 jabbed with their first dose.
Victoria has recorded 13 deaths and 8521 new COVID-19 cases.
The new infections include 3162 from PCR tests and 5359 from rapid antigen tests.
It brings the total number of active cases in the state to 55,617.
The number of patients in hospital with COVID-19 in Victoria stands at 553 with 82 people in intensive care, and 23 on a ventilator.
A man in his 70s has died from COVID-19 in Western Australia as the state's Omicron outbreak grows by another 51 local cases.
Another 14 people have died with COVID-19 and 5977 new cases recorded in Queensland as the state announced a $200 million package targeting international airlines.
South Australia has reported a dip in COVID-19 infections and two more deaths amid further reassurances those in isolation will be able to vote in next month's state election.
Health officials in Tasmania are managing three COVID-19 outbreaks at schools after students returned en masse to the classroom this week.
The island state reported 552 new virus cases on Friday, a drop from 24 hours earlier and no additional deaths.
Novavax rollout to begin from next week
The Novavax vaccine will be rolled out across the country from Monday, as the federal government extended pandemic emergency measures for a further two months.
Novavax will be made available at GP clinics, community pharmacies and state-run vaccine clinics.
The rollout of the first protein-based vaccine in Australia was brought forward by one week.
The first batches of the vaccine arrived in the country earlier this week, with the government having purchased 51 million Novavax doses.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said Novavax would complement the other vaccines being used.
