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

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said launching the vaccine will be one of the government’s top priorities in 2021.

All New Zealanders will be able to receive a Covid-19 vaccine with 15 million doses now secured with the launch planned to begin in the second half of next year.

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

The Government revealed that it has 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 launch goes according to plan, there is enough for each Kiwi and to supply New Zealand’s Pacific neighbors with government planning to secure vaccines to cover the Kingdom of New Zealand: Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands.

It will also get enough sources to cover Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu if their governments want to take over.

Vaccines will be free for all kiwis.

The vaccines cover three different types of technology through 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 Novavax courses

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled the government’s vaccine strategy alongside the ministers of Health, Covid-19 Response, and Science and Research at the University of Auckland medical research campus.

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

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

The plan is then to vaccinate the rest of the general public during the second half of next year, depending on the speed of manufacture and approval from Medsafe, which is developing an accelerated approval process.

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

The researchers were investigating how long the antibodies lasted, and she anticipated that more information would be available next year about ongoing vaccination programs.

“Never before has the entire world tried to vaccinate the entire population at the same time. This will be a sustained deployment for months, not weeks, but our pre-purchase agreements mean New Zealand is well positioned to move forward as soon as it has been proven. that it is safe to do so. “

Ardern said that most countries were considering implementation for all of 2021 and part of 2022 due to its scale, complexity and due to production and delivery timelines.

Ardern said the countries that grant emergency approval for vaccines are those facing public health emergencies and a growing number of deaths, and New Zealand was not in that position.

“Obviously, we are in a completely different situation here.”

Ardern said that “a lot is unknown” about vaccines and that a lot of work has been done on backup supplies and any extras could be sold or donated to other countries.

Pfizer, as the first taxi to get out of line, was in high demand, but no country had insured enough to cover its entire population, Ardern said.

Ardern said the government had not been specific about the hours because they depended on the schedules of drug manufacturers.

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

Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said the government’s vaccination strategy was not to put all eggs in one basket, as there were no guarantees that all would complete clinical trials or be successfully implemented.

“Our plan is to make sure no one gets lost, even if it means we’ve bought more than we need. It’s an investment worth making,” Woods said.

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

Woods said the four government-insured vaccines were complementary to each other.

“Our buying strategy was deliberate,” Woods said.

The government relied on a panel of vaccine experts to develop the strategy.

The launch

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said preparations were underway for the largest immunization program in New Zealand history.

There are some 12,000 health professionals who can administer vaccines and the government plans to train more.

Hipkins said the vaccination program would require “a lot of logistical effort”, including the Pfizer vaccine that must be stored at around -70ºC.

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

It would depend on logistics as to how many more people would need to be hired for the workforce.

The Health Ministry will use the new National Immunization Solution (NIS) that was developed this year after the measles outbreak to track the inventory with information on where the doses are and at what temperature they are maintained.

This year, concerns were raised before the launch of the flu vaccination and some GPs were quickly out of stock while the vaccines were not being used on the pharmacy shelves.

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

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

Health Minister Andrew Little said the goal of vaccinating frontline health workers first 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, starting in the third quarter.

“We are factoring in a large number of complex and interconnected individual lines in our planning, including the safety approval process, global supply chains, as well as the timelines for manufacturing and shipping vaccines in bulk,” Little said.

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

The Government will liaise with Maori providers in Kaupapa to ensure that communities that typically experience poor access to health care are included in the vaccination program.

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

Medsafe has agreed to allow pharmaceutical companies to make ongoing requests for their Covod-19 vaccines so that they can submit their data as it is complete and ready for evaluation 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 the data that companies provide and whether it meets internationally agreed criteria for safety and efficacy.

“Medsafe has streamlined its evaluation processes and is prioritizing the evaluation of Covid-19 vaccines over other pharmaceuticals to obtain a vaccine more quickly, but the safety of the vaccine will not be compromised. Medsafe will remain in close contact with its Australian counterpart in everything.”

The Pacific rollout

The Government has also provided details on how it plans to support New Zealand’s Pacific partners and neighbors.

It will use $ 75 million in official development assistance to fund the deployment.
And $ 10 million of that fund will be an additional contribution to the Covax Facility Advanced Market Commitment that supports equitable access to vaccines.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said New Zealand’s focus will be to buy enough vaccines to cover the Kingdom of New Zealand (Tokelau, Niue, Cook Islands) and our Polynesian neighbors (Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu) in the event that your governments want to take them.

It was confirmed that $ 75 million in official development assistance had been earmarked to support vaccine access and deployment in the Pacific and the world.

“New Zealand is looking for a portfolio of potential Covid-19 vaccines to ensure that we have flexibility and options in the fast-moving global market. We want to ensure that Pacific countries can also access appropriate options and have the support they need to function. successful immunization campaigns “.