Canberra, Jul 7 (IANS): Australians under the age of 40 could become eligible for the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines around September or October, a top official announced here.

Following a meeting with authorities on Tuesday Lt. Gen. John Frewen, who heads the federal government's Covid-19 vaccination task force, revealed that the country expects to have enough doses of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines to make them available to people under the age of 40 from September to October, reports Xinhua news agency.

"On the current supply forecasts that we have, I think that's when we are getting closer to having greater choice," Frewen told reporters.

"But I won't tie myself to specific dates at this stage."

Frewen said that younger Australians could be given a choice about which mRNA vaccine they receive when there is enough supply available.

"When we have adequate supplies I think that's a logical step, but for now we have to prioritise because the supplies of one of the vaccines is limited," he said.

Till date, about 8.4 million Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Australia, including approximately 8,000 younger Australians who have received the AstraZeneca jab.

"AstraZeneca is open to under 40s with informed consent with their GPs," Frewen said.

"We're seeing demand right now in that group of people to take AstraZeneca now rather than wait for an alternate later in the year."

Since the onset of the pandemic, there has been 30,832 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia, with 910 deaths.