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(Reuters) – New Zealand officials injected a small group of healthcare professionals with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, with a view to wider deployment over the weekend.
The group chosen for the test were vaccinators who will administer the inoculation to border and quarantine staff from Saturday.
Chief Health Officer Ashley Bloomfield said the test gave vaccinators the ability to manipulate the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc and BioNTech, which requires storage at very low temperatures.
“Our test at the Auckland Quarantine Facility today confirmed that our processes and systems are ready,” he said.
New Zealand officials have prioritized the inoculation of the country’s estimated 12,000 border workers and so-called managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) workers.
Bloomfield said a nationwide deployment, covering the country’s population of just under 5 million, will take a full year.
New Zealand has been one of the best performing countries in the world in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, with less than 2,500 COVID-19 cases since March 2020 and 26 deaths.
Reporting by Swati Pandey in Sydney; edited by Jane Wardell
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