Government minister Sarah Courtney on Sunday said 40 per cent of children in the age cohort had been booked in for a jab.

She said there was sufficient time for all children in the age bracket to have received their first dose before school returned in February.

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Ms Courtney said it was not a mandatory requirement for children to be vaccinated to return to school though it was encouraged.

"There is going to be no discrimination based on somebody's vaccination status," she said.

"(Unvaccinated children) will still be able to come and participate in schools."

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Vaccinations can be booked in through a state government vaccination clinic or a general practitioner.

Ms Courtney said discussions continued between the Education Department and Public Health over safety protocols needed when schools reopened.

"We want schools to be as safe as possible," she said.

"Vaccination is a really important part of that, but it's only one part of a suite of other measures that we are implementing."

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The Queensland Government on Sunday announced the start of the school year would be delayed by two weeks after the state recorded 18,000 new cases.

Ms Courtney said she still expected state schools to start classes on February 9.

"It's also important to know that given the COVID we do have in our community that school may look a little bit different this year to what it has looked like in previous years," she said.

"We've got a range of contingencies for both localised outbreaks as well as more COVID in our community."

Ms Courtney said the wearing of masks by high school students was still under consideration by the government. She said the government would take advice from Public Health on whether masks should be worn by younger children.

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