Health Minister Greg Hunt says five million extra booster shots to become available by January 15

Health Minister Greg Hunt has revealed a new two-week deadline for the booster program at a press conference this morning.

Health Minister Greg Hunt has promised five million booster doses will be delivered across Australia over two weeks, saying anyone eligible will have the opportunity to get their third dose.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday morning, Mr Hunt said they had now passed 2.25 million Covid vaccine booster shots being delivered to providers.

He said they expected to be 700,000 doses ahead of schedule by the New Year and they would be ramping up deliveries for two weeks.

“We’ll be expanding the vaccines that are being delivered in the first two weeks of January,” he said.

“Between now and the 15th of January, we’ll be delivering over five million vaccines, significantly increasing the numbers that are available.”

Mr Hunt said that meant nine million booster doses would have become available by that deadline to Australians.

“That five million will combine with those that are out in the field to make sure that approximately nine million are available between now and the middle of January,” he said.

“And that’s on top of the two-and-a-quarter million that have already been delivered.

The government has promised five million doses will be delivered over two weeks. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

“Please come forward if you haven’t had your booster yet and you are eligible, there is every opportunity to be boosted.”

Mr Hunt said there were far stronger numbers of people getting their jab than they had anticipated for Wednesday.

“There were 149,000 vaccinations yesterday across Australia coming off the Christmas long weekend and 112,500 of those approximately were boosters,” he said.

He said that pharmacies had given out 60,000 of those booster shots in the 24-hour period, which was a record day for them.

“Pharmacies alone double the state clinics,” he said.

“After the New Year we’re really encouraging the states to step up and reach the heights of their vaccination program which is up to five times higher than they were yesterday.

“Pharmacies are four times what they were only two-and-a-half weeks ago and that’s what we know can be done in Australia.”

The increase in deliveries comes after the nation’s vaccine advisory body decided to reduce the interval between the second and third dose to four months, meaning more people are eligible.