Australia's chief medical officer has urged people to continue to get vaccinated as investigations continue into a NSW woman's death after she received a vaccine jab.
A 48-year-old woman with a number of chronic conditions was given the AstraZeneca vaccine three to four days before she became unwell.
Medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration, says its Vaccine Safety Investigation Group met on Friday evening and concluded that the reported case of blood clots "is likely to be linked to vaccination".
Earlier Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told reporters in Canberra that "people should be cautious about jumping to conclusions" over the case.
Professor Kelly said the benefits of the vaccination program far outweighed any harm, noting that Australia's zero local case level would not continue into the future.
"We will at some point in the future .... have cases here in Australia," he said.
"The chances of being infected will increase, so being vaccinated is protection not only for yourself but the people you care for.
"The benefiits of being vaccinated outweigh the risk of these rare events."
He noted one unpublished overseas study suggested COVID-19 itself brought a risk of blood clotting.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australians should listen to medical experts and inform themselves properly.
So far, just over 1.4 million Australians have had at least one dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.
Much wider vaccination will be essential to Australia reopening its international border.
Prof Kelly said experts were working on advice to go to national cabinet, which next meets on Monday, about the health aspects of reopening borders.
With 800,000 cases globally each day, any change in the way borders operate increased the risk of incursion, he said.
"One of the key elements will be the rollout of vaccinations in Australia," he said.
Cabinet minister Simon Birmingham said the issue of transmission of the virus after a person is vaccinated would also be key to borders reopening.
"So somebody who is vaccinated could still get COVID - the odds are they won't get sick - but could they pass it on to somebody else who may not have been vaccinated?" he said.
"Those questions and analysis around transmission are a live piece of work happening around the world at present."
Mr Morrison said Australians had become used to recording days of zero community transmission but that would need to change.
"If we were to lift the borders and people were to come, then you would see those cases increase," he told 6PR radio.
"Australians would have to become used to dealing with a thousand cases a week or more."
The government will also have to consider the possibility of Australians needing a third Pfizer jab, after the company's boss predicted that would be the case to maintain protection against the virus.
Prof Kelly said there would inevitably be changes to the vaccination program over time, including new and improved vaccines to deal with variants and the possible mixing of vaccines.
Meanwhile, Queensland has recorded five new cases of coronavirus linked to Papua New Guinea, with all detected in hotel quarantine.
Australian Associated Press
