First doses are up 5.3 percentage points within City of Ballarat with 88.9 per cent of residents aged 15-plus now jabbed and 57.1 per cent double vaccinated.

This is set to dramatically rise with a big boost in Moderna vaccines available this week, after an initial trickle last week, via community pharmacies and general practitioners. Moderna access is bolstered with the Pfizer interval shortened to three weeks in state-run vaccination hubs from this week and approval for people aged 60-plus to access Moderna and Pfizer from their GP.

Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton on Monday highlighted vaccinations proving to start to curbing rising infections in the state.

There were 1,377 new COVID infections reported for Victoria on Monday, including 73 in regional Victoria and two new cases in Ballarat.

Professor Sutton said areas of low-vaccination were now representing the highest risk.

"The main thing I would like to emphasise is that vaccination is making a difference here, " Professor Sutton said.

"We have seen some stabilisation of numbers in Hume and in Wyndham. That really is a reflection of the huge increase in vaccination uptake in those local government areas in the last couple of weeks, as they've gone to the state average and beyond in some of those postcodes.

"The difference of vaccination is really going to be our pathway out of here, and with the Moderna vaccine being available through our pop-ups, and through pharmacies, this is a unique opportunity for everyone who is eligible, 12 to 59 years of age, for the Moderna vaccine, to take advantage of those additional doses."

Early adopters for AstraZeneca in under-40s have started lining up for their second doses as Ballarat remains clear above the state average of 52.6 per cent fully vaccinated.

Greater Bendigo, ahead early in the jab race, has 87.9 per cent of residents aged 15-plus having received a first dose with 60.2 per cent double-vaccinated, the latter still slightly up on Ballarat.

Greater Geelong (90.6 per cent first doses; 61.4 per cent fully vaccinated) and Warrmabool (94.2; 65.3) remain strong regional vaccine leaders.

Creswick Pharmacy owner Jeff Unmack felt there was still a way to go before reaching the predominantly vaccine hesitant. His pharmacy has been flat-out with bookings to start Moderna this week for anyone aged 12-plus, on top of AstraZeneca (only available to those aged 18-plus).

Mr Unmack said there were some over-60s who had held out for a Pfizer and now fellow mRNA-based Moderna vaccine. But for the most part, bookings had been about access.

"There are still people out there waiting for the chance to have one [a vaccine] and they're keen as anything to get that protection," Mr Unmack said. "At least we're able to be capturing a lot more people and even if they don't get sick, they're also reducing the chance of others more vulnerable getting sick."

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Creswick pharmacy had a 90-page waiting list for Moderna vaccines leading into this week.

Mr Unmack said pharmacies were proving a good place to offer people reassurance on which vaccine might be best for them - a brand dilemma largely unheard of before COVID for people accessing flu jabs or vaccinations to travel overseas.

Creswick Pharmacy will launch Moderna vaccines on Tuesday with one client aged under-18 and one aged 60-plus.

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