THEY didn't need to be told twice. With the threat of one of the most deadly diseases hanging over the town, Biloela's residents were keen to protect themselves.

Australia's largest mass vaccination against the meningococcal virus began yesterday morning, with more than 100 locals of the central Queensland town queueing for up to an hour before the special clinic's doors opened at 9am.

About 2000 Biloela and Thangool residents aged 18 to 40 will be vaccinated against type C strain of the meningococcal virus over the next four days after Queensland Health officials confirmed four cases of the disease in the township over the past two months.

The makeshift clinic set up at the Biloela Civic Centre opened its doors to a rush of concerned residents after first vaccinating police officers and emergency services personnel.

Residents Rochelle Radburn, 26, and Mark Radburn, 27, arrived at 8.30am for their shots, both saying "it's better to be safe than sorry".

Ms Radburn said they found out about the meningococcal scare on the TV news on Thursday night and wanted to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

"It's a bit of a worry, I mean, you could die from it," she said. "So what's one needle compared to a life.

"But I think they should immunise the kids. It's not just us that gets it."

Queensland Health Communicable Disease Unit manager Linda Selvy said it was not necessary for children to be vaccinated against this strain of meningococcus as it seemed to affect only 18 to 40-year-olds.

Dr Selvy said there were mild side-effects from the vaccine, including a sore arm and mild fever, and there was a slight possibility of an allergic reaction in some people, so it would only be given to those deemed at risk of contracting the strain.

Dr Selvy said the Biloela mass vaccination was only the second of its kind in Australia and was by far the largest. A similar vaccination program had been carried out in a remote Queensland community in early 1990s.

"It was a remote community and quite a different circumstance to what we have here," she said.

Biloela nurse Helen Wallis, 37, was one of the many vaccinated yesterday.