COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand

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COVID-19 vaccination program
New Zealand Government COVID19 Vaccine Imagery.png
New Zealand COVID19 Vaccine Branding
Date20 February 2021 (2021-02-20) – present
LocationNew Zealand
CauseCOVID-19 pandemic
TargetImmunisation of New Zealand against COVID-19
Organised byMinistry of Health, District Health Boards.
Participants217,603 people have received at least one dose[1] A change of +26.10% from the week prior.
Outcome87,297 people have received both doses. [2] A change of +45.44% from the week prior.
Websitecovid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccines/

COVID-19 vaccination in New Zealand began on 20 February 2021,[3] and will continue throughout the year with the goal of vaccinating all willing New Zealanders.

Part of a series on the
COVID-19 pandemic
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Timeline
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Impact
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SARS-CoV-2 (Wikimedia colors).svg COVID-19 portal
A photo of the New Zealand Governments vaccine campaign billboard

Vaccine tracker[edit]

The Ministry of Health releases weekly vaccine numbers every Wednesday.[4] The following graphs are as of 11:59PM on April 27 NZST[5]

Daily vaccinations chart of New Zealand[6]

Cumulative vaccinations in New Zealand

Planned vs Actual vaccination numbers

Vaccine approval[edit]

Currently, the only vaccine approved by Government Regulator Medsafe is the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. It is approved under section 23 of the Medicines Act, with conditions.[7]

Medsafe has received applications for both the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, with some data under evaluation, and further data to be provided by the applicants. They are currently not approved.[7]

Vaccine Status[8]

Vaccine name Approval progress Quantity Doses Required Vaccine approved Began administering
Pfizer–BioNTech[9] Green check.svg Approved for use 10 million 2 Green check.svg 03 Feb 2021[10] Green check.svg 18 Feb 2021
Johnson & Johnson Application received, some data under evaluation, further data to be provided.
 5 million 1 Dark Red x.svg Not yet Dark Red x.svg Not yet
Oxford–AstraZeneca Application received, some data under evaluation, further data to be provided. 7.6 million 2 Dark Red x.svg Not yet Dark Red x.svg Not yet
Novavax Dark Red x.svg No Application Received[11] 10.72 million 2 Dark Red x.svg Not yet Dark Red x.svg Not yet

Vaccines in trial stage[edit]

Vaccine Type (technology) Phase I Phase II Phase III
ReCOV Subunit In progress[citation needed] Dark Red x.svg Not yet Dark Red x.svg Not yet

Vaccine roll out plan[edit]

COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan[12]
Order Priority group Number eligible (estimated) Progress
Group 1
1a Border/MIQ workforce 15,000 In Progress
1b Families and household contacts 40,000
Group 2
2a Frontline healthcare workers (non-border) who could be exposed to COVID-19 while providing care 57,000
2b Frontline healthcare workers who may expose vulnerable people to COVID-19 183,000
2b At-risk people living in settings with a high risk of transmission or exposure to COVID-19 234,000
2b New Zealand Defence Force 10000 [13]
Group 3
3a People aged 75+ 317,000
3b People aged 65+ 432,000
3c People with underlying health conditions or disabilities 730,000
Group 4
4 The remainder of the population 2 million
Other Groups
– New Zealand Olympic Team 200[14] In Progress


The following reasons for overseas travel are eligible to be considered for an early vaccine:[15]

  • access critical medical care that is not available in New Zealand for yourself or your dependant
  • to visit an immediate family member who is dying
  • to provide critical care and protection for a dependant eg, your child.
  • to protect the safety and security of New Zealand’s right to govern itself
  • for Government-approved humanitarian efforts as part of New Zealand’s commitments to foreign aid, international disaster responses, or supporting Pacific and Realm countries' recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic
  • to participate in major international events where travel is necessary to represent New Zealand
  • for nationally significant trade negotiations.

History[edit]

Unofficial initiatives[edit]

In late August 2020, Stuff reported that several businessmen and former politicians (including former National MP Ross Meurant and former National Party and ACT party leader Don Brash) had sought to import Russia's insufficiently tested Gam-COVID-Vac (also known as Sputnik V) vaccine into New Zealand. They had established a company called Covax-NZR Limited and filed paperwork through the Russian Embassy to establish supply and distribution arrangements to import the vaccine. University of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris warned that using untested vaccines could hurt global efforts to develop safe and effective vaccines against COVID-19.[16]

Official procurement efforts[edit]

On 12 October 2020, the New Zealand Government signed an agreement with Pfizer and BioNTech to buy 1.5 million COVID-19 stocks of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which is enough for 750,000 people. The COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy Task Force also entered into negotiations with other pharmaceutical companies to provide vaccines. In addition, the Government established a fund of $66.3 million to support a COVID-19 immunisation programme as soon as the vaccine is ready.[17]

On 17 December, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that the New Zealand Government had purchased two more vaccines for New Zealand, the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau and its Pacific partners Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu from the pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax. The Government had purchased 7.6 million doses (enough for 3.8 million people) from AstraZeneca and 10.72 million doses (enough for 5.36 million people) from Novavax. Both vaccines require two doses to be administered. Both vaccines will be free for New Zealanders. The Government had already purchased 750,000 courses from Pfizer/BioNTech and 5 million from Janssen Pharmaceutica.[18]

On 3 February 2021, Prime Minister Ardern provisionally approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in New Zealand. The initial batches of the vaccine are scheduled to arrive in late March 2021, with frontline workers and the vulnerable given priority.[19] By 10 February, the Government had formally authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in New Zealand. The vaccine will be limited to people aged 16 years and over.[20] By 8 March, the New Zealand Government had secured an additional 8.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine[21]

Rollout efforts[edit]

On 20 February, 100 nurses became the first people in New Zealand to receive the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Healthcare workers, essential workers and those most at risk will be vaccinated in the second quarter of the year. The general population will be vaccinated in the second half of the year.[22]

On 1 March, 28 port workers at Tauranga received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[23]

On 10 March, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out plan using the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[24]

On 26 March, the Canterbury District Health Board was made to take its COVID-19 vaccination booking system offline after a security vulnerability was discovered by a member of the public that exposed details of 716 people who had registered to use the system. The person who found the vulnerability labelled the developer of the system incompetent.[25] To date the booking system has not been brought back online.

On 29 March, the Hawke's Bay District Health Board criticised the Health Ministry for flaws and delays in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, claiming it had created a space for anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theories to take root.[26]

On 12 April, Prime Minister Ardern confirmed that 86% of frontline workers have received at least one COVID vaccination; accounting for 3,472 out of 4,010 workers.[27]

On 15 April, COVID-19 Response Minister Hipkins confirmed that members of the public who were not on the priority list for COVID-19 vaccinations had been receiving jabs in order to prevent supplies from being wasted. Hipkins' response followed last-minute appeals by the Government to medical staff to get vaccinations before doses expire and anecdotal reports that "walk-ins" were being accepted at some clinics for the same reason.[28]

Vaccine diplomacy[edit]

On 16 April 2021, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand would donate 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccine doses through an international vaccine sharing programme. This quantity will be enough to vaccinate 800,000 people, many of whom will be health workers and vulnerable people in the Pacific Islands. During the announcement, Ardern also advocated a "team of 7.8 billion," based on the Government's "team of 5 million" rhetoric.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "COVID-19: Vaccine data". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ^ "COVID-19: Vaccine data". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ "First batch of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in NZ". Beehive.govt.nz. New Zealand Government. 15 February 2021. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021.
  4. ^ "COVID-19: Vaccine data". Healthgovt.nz. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  5. ^ "COVID-19: Vaccine data". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  6. ^ https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-data-and-statistics/covid-19-vaccine-data
  7. ^ a b "COVID-19 Vaccine Status of Applications". www.medsafe.govt.nz. Medical Devices Safety Authority. 3 March 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021.
  8. ^ "COVID-19: Types of vaccines". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  9. ^ https://covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-vaccines-in-new-zealand/our-covid-19-vaccine-agreements/
  10. ^ https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/Comirnaty-Gazette.pdf
  11. ^ "Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine granted provisional approval by Medsafe". RNZ. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  12. ^ "COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan". Unite against COVID-19. 10 March 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Defence Force service members told to get vaccinated or face being fired". RNZ. 23 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  14. ^ "New Zealand Team marks 100 days until Tokyo, calls for Kiwis to Get on Board". New Zealand Olympic Team. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  15. ^ "COVID-19: Applying for an early vaccine for travel overseas". Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
  16. ^ Shand, Matt (30 August 2020). "Coronavirus: Kiwis push Kremlin to import unproven Covid-19 vaccine". Stuff. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
  17. ^ "Government signs agreement to purchase 1.5m Covid-19 vaccines, enough for 750k people". 1 News. 12 October 2020. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  18. ^ "Govt secures another two Covid-19 vaccines, PM says every New Zealander will be able to be vaccinated". Radio New Zealand. 16 December 2020. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  19. ^ de Jong, Eleanor (3 February 2021). "New Zealand gives provisional approval to Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Pfizer vaccine signed off by Government, with rules about who will get it". 1 News. 10 February 2021. Archived from the original on 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Enough doses of Covid-19 vaccine for every New Zealander secured by Government". 1 News. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  22. ^ Leahy, Ben (20 February 2021). "Covid 19 coronavirus: Health officials give presser as first Kiwis receive vaccinations". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Covid-19 vaccinations at Port of Tauranga begin". Radio New Zealand. 1 March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  24. ^ "COVID-19 vaccine roll out plan". Unite Against COVID19. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  25. ^ "Coronavirus: Canterbury DHB vaccine data breach worse than Government's letting on - whistleblower". Newshub.co.nz. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  26. ^ Sharpe, Marty (29 March 2021). "Covid-19 vaccines: DHB criticised Ministry of Health for rollout delays, warns of flourishing conspiracy theories". Stuff. Archived from the original on 29 March 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  27. ^ Walls, Jason; Cheng, Derek (12 April 2021). "Covid 19 coronavirus: Jacinda Ardern says 86 per cent of frontline workers have had at least one jab, state memorial service for Prince Philip announced". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  28. ^ Gabel, Julia (15 April 2021). "Covid 19 coronavirus: Lucky walk-ins get early vaccinations to avoid doses expiring". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  29. ^ Walls, Jason (16 April 2021). "Covid 19 coronavirus: NZ donates 1.6 million vaccine doses, Ardern calls for 'team of 7.8 billion'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
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