Scott Morrison has refused to accept the bungled vaccine rollout is fuelling coronavirus lockdowns sweeping Australia.
The prime minister insists he shares the frustrations of more than half of the Australian population living under heavy restrictions.
Just 14 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, with the nation lagging behind most of the developed world.
The prime minister was repeatedly asked to apologise for low vaccination rates leading to lockdowns during a round of radio interviews.
Mr Morrison said the nature of coronavirus meant some problems were out of the government's control.
"I'm accountable for the vaccination program and everything that's happened in it," he told KIIS FM on Wednesday.
"I'm also accountable for fixing it and that's what we're doing."
NSW recorded 110 new cases on Wednesday with at least 60 spending time in the community while infectious.
Victoria recorded 22 new local cases on Wednesday, while a new infection has been reported in SA taking Adelaide's cluster to six.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Australia had stopped thousands of daily cases despite low vaccination rates.
"What we need to do now is quash it, because with the vaccination rates the way they are, we won't be able to live freely and safely unless we're able to quash this current outbreak," she said.
Mr Morrison said countries with much higher vaccination rates were going back into lockdown as the globe grappled with contagious strains of coronavirus.
"I understand there is great frustration. Believe me, I feel the same frustration," he told 5AA radio.
"This latest Delta variant has thrown a completely new curve ball on this issue, which every single country in the world is wrestling with."
The prime minister insisted total urgency was being applied to the vaccine rollout, despite earlier arguing the national program was not a race.
Mr Morrison again blamed delays on multiple updates to expert advice on the AstraZeneca jab, describing the ATAGI recommendations as "a big problem".
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the government's policy failures were to blame for lockdowns.
"If this government had fixed the rollout of the vaccine, and put in place national quarantine facilities, we wouldn't have these lockdowns," he told 2SM radio.
There is also increasing pressure to revive JobKeeper wage subsidies because of lockdowns.
Instead, people who lose work in designated hot spots can access weekly payments of between $375 and $600.
Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said the lockdowns had shown the decision to dump JobKeeper was incredibly stupid.
Cabinet's expenditure review committee will meet on Wednesday to discuss support measures the government has repeatedly tweaked.
The prime minister defended the disaster payment rate because it mirrors JobKeeper's October to December level.
