Covid 19 coronavirus: ‘deeply concerned’ Jacinda Ardern calls EU vaccine export move ‘wrong’

New Zealand received good news on Sunday after Australia decided not to extend its suspension of quarantine-free flights and the Health Ministry reported another day that there were no new cases of Covid-19 in the community.

However, this is not all good news, as health authorities are now concerned about new EU rules on vaccine exports that could mean that there are not as many doses available in New Zealand.

And while yesterday’s reopening of the one-way travel bubble is good news for Kiwis heading to Australia, it’s a move in the wrong direction for desperate New Zealand tour operators struggling to keep their heads. out of the water.

Green zone quarantine free flights from New Zealand to Australia started again yesterday after the scheme was quickly suspended following the discovery of the South African variant Covid-19 in the community.

Australia’s Acting Medical Director, Professor Michael Kidd, told a news conference yesterday that “Green Zone flights from New Zealand to Australia are now considered low enough risk given New Zealand’s strong public health response to the Covid-19 “.

Meanwhile, to add to the concerns of New Zealand health officials, new European Union controls on Covid-19 vaccine exports could mean that not as many doses are available in New Zealand.

The EU has introduced new rules and controls for vaccines manufactured within the EU and destined for countries outside the EU, including Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told a press conference yesterday that what the EU was doing was “wrong” and that she was “deeply concerned”.

“The world cannot afford vaccine nationalism right now,” he said.

“We as a nation have always said that given what we are seeing abroad, we are very willing to be patient. However, there is still a duty to ensure that the world’s healthcare workers and those on the front lines are also protected. “

He said the decision of where to go for vaccines should not be made by any particular country or group of countries.

“Pharmaceutical companies are in a much better position within the agreements they have with purchasing and the ease that it is providing to the world, for example Covax, to make a decision about where the need is greatest and to try to set priorities.”

While the Health Ministry said it was determining whether the new rules will slow down New Zealand’s pandemic response, it also said it expected vaccine manufacturers to stick to deadlines in purchasing agreements.

He says the government ordered four different vaccines in advance, so New Zealanders will still have access to a vaccine if an agreement fails.

The EU unveiled its plans to tighten rules on exports of coronavirus vaccines produced within the bloc amid fears that some of the doses it got from AstraZeneca could be diverted elsewhere. The move could be used to block shipments to many non-EU countries and ensure that any EU-based exporting company first has to present their plans to national authorities.

The UK and Northern Irish governments immediately criticized the move, saying the bloc invoked an emergency clause in its divorce deal with Britain to introduce controls on exports to Northern Ireland. Goods are supposed to flow freely between the EU and Northern Ireland under special arrangements for the UK region designed to protect the peace process on the island of Ireland.

But the EU later said it was not invoking Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol which allows either party to override parts of their agreement.

“The Commission is not activating the safeguard clause,” it said in its statement, adding that the restrictive regulations have not yet been finalized and will not be adopted before Saturday.

New Zealand tour operators are desperately waiting for a vaccine and open borders as some businesses struggle to stay open in the face of mounting compliance costs.

Wings and Water Te Anau’s operations manager and co-owner Ivan Krippner told RNZ that his insurance had increased dramatically.

It used to cost him $ 7,000 to insure a seaplane, flying or not, he said, but that increased to $ 17,000 last year and $ 32,000 this year.

Fox Glacier Guiding CEO Rob Jewell said it was difficult to cover rising compliance costs after the revenue impact of border closures.

“I mean we can’t absorb every part of the fulfillment costs as a business. We’ve done that in the past for most of them, but eventually, it gets to the point where you have to pass it on to your pricing. To the customer if you just want to. keep your head above the water, “Jewell said.

“So when we started doing our three-year certification, it would cost us around $ 2,000 to $ 2,500. Well now they are in the neighborhood of $ 10,000 more and we have our next big certification in June of this year. Year so it’s going to hurt especially when we’re in a Covid year. “