South Australia has reported a surge in COVID-19 vaccination bookings after tweaking its program, making the Pfizer jab more widely available.
SA Health says 35,000 bookings were made on Monday, the first day people aged over 60 became eligible for the Pfizer dose.
About 11,000 of those bookings were made for younger children aged 12 to 16, who can also attend clinics on a walk-in basis.
On Tuesday, the state government opened another vaccination clinic, in the Myer retail centre in Adelaide's Rundle Mall.
The new clinic will take bookings and can also cater for about 100 walk-ins each day.
Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Emily Kirkpatrick said the new clinic was expected to provide a boost to SA's vaccination rate, making it easy for people working in the city.
She also defended SA's continued tough stance on arrivals from NSW and Victoria, particularly among locals seeking to return or those applying for exemptions.
While staff considering those exemptions were currently dealing with about 7000 applications, Dr Kirkpatrick said it was important each one was considered on its own merits.
"They do all still need to be considered on a case-by-case basis," she said.
"We're at the point where there is so much risk in NSW and Victoria, we absolutely need an individual lens on these applications."
Health Minister Stephen Wade said the heartache being experienced by those people waiting to return or waiting for exemptions was clear, but that would be worse if there was a major outbreak of the Delta strain of the virus in SA.
"It's completely understandable that people are distressed as they wait for consideration of their application," Mr Wade said.
"It's very important that we make sure each of those applications is properly considered because every single case could represent the introduction of Delta to our state.
"The heartbreak that would be caused to our state if there was an outbreak in South Australia like there has been to the east is something this government is very determined to avoid."
SA is currently dealing with 11 virus cases acquired either interstate or overseas.
All are in hotel quarantine including a miner who flew into Adelaide from Sydney last week.
His infection forced about 45 people into isolation including some on the same flight.
They have all tested negative so far.
Altogether SA has about 600 people in quarantine, including people who may have come in contact with a number of interstate truck drivers who tested positive for the virus after travelling into the state.
SA Health said so far 98 per cent of those people had also tested negative.
