Booster shot take-up in the ACT is falling behind government forecasts, leaving more people at risk of severe outcomes or death in what has been touted as the world's most vaccinated city.
Less than half the eligible population in the territory have received their third dose, prompting a plea from the acting ACT Health Minister Chris Steel on what was Australia's deadliest day of the pandemic.
"This is still lower than what we were projecting and we do want to see much more people come forward to take up their booster shot, it is the best protection that they have against severe disease," Mr Steel said.
There were 98 deaths reported across the nation on Friday. This included a Canberra man in his 80s.
There were 734 new COVID-19 cases reported in the ACT. Sixty-six people were in Canberra hospitals with COVID-19. Five were in intensive care and one was being ventilated.
Almost 99 per cent of Canberrans aged 12 and over have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, with the nation's capital often considered to be one of the most vaccinated cities in the world.
Mr Steel did not say exactly how far behind forecasts the ACT was, only that it was not near the level of people who came forward for their first and second shots.
"Initially we expected that we'd have the same very high vaccination levels with the booster shot as we had with the first two doses," he said.
"But what's become apparent not only here in the ACT but also around Australia is that there seems to be less people coming forward."
Despite the ACT's underwhelming booster take-up, the territory leads the nation, with nearly 45 per cent of the eligible population having received their third dose.
The ACT government has previously been warned about a potential lag in people receiving their booster shots.
Research commissioned by the government last year found a sense of complacency could result in lower booster take-up. It found targeted campaigns may be needed to boost this rate.
Mr Steel confirmed the government would ramp up its booster campaign to encourage more people to come forward.
"We're continuing to ramp up the campaign and we were talking about that nationally and how we can work nationally to make sure there's really strong messaging to encourage people to take up their booster shot," Mr Steel said.
Schools started to receive rapid antigen tests on Thursday and Mr Steel said more than 50,000 had already been delivered.
However, the vaccine rate for the first day back at school was set to be lower than anticipated. Earlier this week, Chief Minister Andrew Barr had tipped almost 90 per cent of five- to 11-year-olds would have received their first COVID-19 vaccine.
But only 63.3 per cent had received their dose as of Friday.
"It looks like that we won't meet the target of 90 per cent before school returns," Mr Steel said.
"And that's why we're really encouraging all parents to make sure that their child from that five to 11 age group gets in to get their first dose."
