Covid 19 coronavirus: New Zealand signs to buy 1.5 million doses of vaccine

The Government has signed an agreement to buy 1.5 million Covid-19 vaccines, enough for 750,000 people.

The deal will allow the purchase of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech, subject to the vaccine successfully completing all clinical trials and passing regulatory approvals in New Zealand, said Minister for Research, Science and Innovation, Megan Woods, and Minister for Cheers, Chris Hipkins.

“Our first vaccine purchase agreement has been signed and brings to fruition some of the critical work that goes on behind the scenes to keep New Zealanders safe from Covid-19,” Woods said.

“As part of the agreement, delivery of vaccines to New Zealand could be as early as the first quarter of 2021. This is just the first tranche of work in a multi-pronged approach to ensure that we secure vaccines for New Zealanders.

Woods said: “Pfizer has said that they are making good progress with the development of a Covid-19 vaccine. Subject to clinical and regulatory success, and as long as the vaccine is approved for use here in New Zealand by Medsafe, it is possible that some doses will be available to us in the early part of 2021. “

The government signed a $ 27 million deal with the Covax Facility last month that will allow New Zealand to purchase a successful vaccine from a variety of candidates.

Decisions on who would receive access to the first available vaccines have yet to be made, the government says.

“Work is currently under way in the Ministry of Health to determine what the implementation of an Immunization Program would look like. Several factors will influence who will receive which vaccines and when, such as data from trials on the suitability of each vaccine for a certain age group. Hipkins said.

“We have set aside $ 66.3 million for medical supplies and infrastructure to ensure New Zealand is ready to launch a Covid-19 immunization program as soon as we have a safe and effective vaccine.

“Most of this investment will pay for supplies sufficient to support the countries of New Zealand and the Pacific Realm; supplies like PPE, needles, syringes and swabs, and freezers to store a vaccine,” Hipkins said.