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New Zealand’s Covid-19 minister has called for patience in the country’s vaccine rollout program, saying it is unlikely to follow the UK in using emergency provisions to speed up approval.
Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said: “We are in a slightly different position than other countries that are using emergency provisions to approve the vaccine, and in many cases those countries are doing so because they are suffering greatly from Covid. , with thousands of people dying every day. “
New Zealand faced a different situation, he said, but added: “We are preparing, preparing so that when vaccines arrive in New Zealand they are pre-approved.”
New Zealand experts agree that the country, like Australia, can endure a longer wait and must take a strategic approach to its vaccination program.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that mass immunizations will begin next week after becoming the first country in the Western world to approve a Covid vaccine.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said no corners had been cut in licensing the Pfizer / BioNTech jab in record time, and that the vaccine had come under scrutiny. more comprehensive by experts who worked around the clock. The UK has purchased 40 million doses of the vaccine, which has been shown to be 95% effective.
At least 60,000 people have died from Covid in the UK, with more than 1.6 million cases recorded. In contrast, New Zealand has a total of 25 deaths from Covid-19, with few cases outside its border regime since August.
Fran Priddy, clinical director of the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa NZ, said that workers within the New Zealand border regime, including health specialists, should be vaccinated first, and then those most at risk. “That would include the elderly, those who live in nursing homes and those with high rates of comorbidities like Maori,” he said.
Dr. Priddy said the kiwis should be prepared to wait in any event because regulatory approvals and logistics, including super cold freezers and a supportive health workforce, were not yet assured.
University of Otago public health professor Michael Baker said New Zealand’s success in handling the virus allowed for some disinterest. “One of the advantages of being successful with the phase-out is that it frees up the vaccine supply for higher priority countries that don’t have the resources to do what Australia and New Zealand have done,” he said.
Dr. Baker agreed with Priddy that groups at highest risk of contracting the virus should be vaccinated first, followed by those at risk for severe cases. “That’s why only modest supplies of Pfizer’s vaccine will be extremely helpful to us,” he said.
University of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris said the Pfizer vaccine, which both the UK and New Zealand have agreements on, required complicated infrastructure and might not be suitable for developing countries. He reassured the Kiwis, saying that “there will be enough vaccines for everyone.”
With Australian Associated Press
