Coronavirus Covid 19: when kiwis will have access to the vaccine

Every New Zealander will be able to be vaccinated against Covid-19 with 15 million doses now secured, with deployment scheduled to begin in the second half of next year.

The government is also working “very closely” with Australia to ensure deployment across the Pacific, Ardern said.

The government revealed that it had obtained two additional vaccines.

The new vaccines are AstraZeneca – 7.6 million doses for 3.8 million people – and Novavax – 10.72 million doses, enough for 5.36 million people.

If the deployment goes as planned, there is enough for every Kiwi and to supply New Zealand’s Pacific neighbors, with the government planning to secure vaccines to cover the Kingdom of New Zealand – Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands.

It will also provide enough resources to cover Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu if their governments wish to support them.

Vaccines will be free for all kiwis.

The vaccines cover three different types of technologies thanks to agreements with four manufacturers:

– 750,000 courses from Pfizer / BioNTech;
– 5 million Janssen courses;
– 3.8 million courses from the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca; and
– 5.36 million courses of Novavax

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled the government’s vaccine strategy alongside ministers of health, the response to Covid-19 and science and research at the University of Auckland’s medical research campus.

The first priority will be cross-border workers and essential workers who are expected to receive the vaccine in the second quarter of 2021.

These workers include the border and MIQ workforce, frontline Covid-19 healthcare workers and their family contacts.

The plan is then to vaccinate the rest of the general public throughout the second half of next year, depending on the speed of manufacture and approval from Medsafe which is developing a fast-track approval process.

“We are moving as fast as possible, but we also want to make sure the vaccine is safe for New Zealanders,” Ardern said.

Researchers were studying the lifespan of antibodies and she predicted that there would be more information available next year on ongoing vaccination programs.

“Never before has the whole world sought to vaccinate the entire population at the same time. It will be a sustained rollout over months, not weeks, but our pre-purchase agreements mean New Zealand is in a good position to do so as soon as it is proven safe to do so. “

Ardern said most countries are considering the rollout to cover all of 2021 and part of 2022 due to its scale, complexity, and production and delivery times.

Ardern said the countries granting emergency vaccine approval were those facing public health emergencies and increasing death tolls and New Zealand was not in that position.

“We are obviously in a totally different situation here.”

Ardern said “a lot is unknown” about vaccines and a lot of work has been put into the safeguard provisions and any extras could be sold or donated to other countries.

Pfizer, as the first taxi in the row, was in high demand but no country got enough to cover its entire population, Ardern said.

Ardern said the government had not been specific with the deadlines because they depended on the drug makers’ schedules.

The government predicted that some vaccines would not be delivered, which is why it had purchased so many doses and options.

Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said the government’s vaccination strategy was not to put all of its eggs in one basket because there was no guarantee that they would complete all clinical trials or be successfully deployed.

“Our plan is to make sure no one is missing, even if it means we’ve bought more than we need. It’s a worthwhile investment, ”said Woods.

“The world of vaccine development is dynamic. While we are convinced that our four agreements place us in an excellent position, we are not ruling out further purchases if necessary.”

Woods said the four government-guaranteed vaccinations were complementary to each other.

“Our buying strategy was deliberate,” said Woods.

The government hired a group of vaccine experts to develop the strategy.

The deployment

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said preparations were underway to prepare for New Zealand’s largest ever vaccination program.

There are about 12,000 health professionals able to administer vaccines and the government plans to train more.

Hipkins said the vaccination program would require “an enormous logistical effort” – including the Pfizer vaccine to be stored at around -70 ° C.

The government especially wanted to focus on creating a diverse workforce to administer the vaccine, Hipkins said.

The number of additional people to be recruited into the labor market would depend on logistics.

The new National Immunization Solution (NIS) that was developed this year in the wake of the measles outbreak will be used by the Department of Health to track inventory with information on where doses are located and at what temperature they are kept.

Concerns were raised this year ahead of the flu shot rollout, with some GPs quickly running out as vaccines lay unused on drugstore shelves.

Hipkins said the NIS would allow health officials to track and trace Covid-19 vaccines and consumables, including their expiration dates, which would reduce waste.

In addition, the Department of Health has purchased nine large -80 ° C freezers that can store more than 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which are expected to arrive by the end of the year.

Health Minister Andrew Little said the goal of the first vaccination of frontline health workers was to further strengthen the border and “create a layer of protection across the country.”

Vaccination of this group will begin in the second quarter of 2021, followed by the general population – in stages – from the third quarter.

“We integrate a large number of complex and interconnected individual components into our planning, including the safety approval process, global supply chains, and bulk vaccine manufacturing and shipping times,” said Little said.

It was “absolutely vital,” said Little, that there be good vaccine coverage in the community.

The government is reportedly contacting Maori providers in Kaupapa to ensure that communities that normally have limited access to health care are included in the immunization program.

The vaccines will be voluntary, but Little said the government would send a “very strong message” about vaccines.

Medsafe has agreed to allow pharmaceutical companies to make sequential requests for their Covod-19 vaccines so they can submit their data as it is completed and ready for review to speed up the process.

“Pfizer, BioNTech and Janssen have already started submitting data, and the timing of Medsafe’s approval process depends on many factors, such as what data companies provide and whether they meet internationally recognized criteria for safety and security. efficiency.

“Medsafe has streamlined its assessment processes and prioritizes the assessment of Covid-19 vaccines over other pharmaceuticals to get a vaccine faster, but there will be no compromise on vaccine safety. Medsafe will remain in close contact with its Australian counterpart throughout. “

Deployment in the Pacific

The government also provided details on how it plans to support New Zealand’s partners and neighbors in the Pacific.

It will use $ 75 million in official development assistance to finance the deployment.
And $ 10 million of this fund will constitute an additional contribution to the prior market engagement of the Covax mechanism which supports equitable access to vaccines.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said New Zealand’s approach will be to purchase enough vaccine to cover the Kingdom of New Zealand (Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands) and our Polynesian neighbors (Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu) if their governments wish to adopt them.

Confirmed official development assistance of $ 75 million had been allocated to support access and deployment of vaccines in the Pacific and globally.

“New Zealand is pursuing a portfolio of potential Covid-19 vaccines to ensure flexibility and choice in a rapidly changing global market. We want to make sure that Pacific countries can also access the right options and get the support they need to be successful in immunization campaigns. “