5 July 2022
Chuck Schooner
[FYI request #19332 email]
Tēnā koe Chuck,
Your Official Information Act request, reference: H202207293
Thank you for your email of 30 May 2022, which has been considered under the Official Information Act
1982 (the Act). Please find a response to each part of your request below:
As a follow up can you also please provide the definitions of
- coercion
- blackmail
- Hobson’s choice.
While the Act allows New Zealanders to ask for information from Ministers and government agencies, there
is no requirement for agencies to create new information, compile information they do not hold or provide
or prove an opinion. Your request appears designed to engage in a debate about the Government’s COVID-
19 vaccination programme, rather than a request for official information. The Act does not support
requests where an opinion, comment, argument, or hypothetical statement is put to the Ministry for
response, couched as a request for information. This part of your request is therefore refused under
section 18(g) on the grounds that it is not held by the Ministry.
It has recently been announced a second booster would be made available to vulnerable groups
(conspiracy theorists said this!). As at todays date there are 18 serious side effects per Medsafe
reporting. In line with the definition of informed consent can you confirm that people looking to get
boosters and / or their fourth dose are made aware of all of these potential side effects along with a
warning that they could potentially die given this gene therapy has killed people.
It is important to note the distinction between safety signals and side effects. Al the known side effects for
a medicine (including COVID-19 vaccines) are listed in the medicine data sheet not in Medsafe reporting.
Under the Ministry of Health’s operational guidelines for COVID-19 vaccinators, printed information should
be provided to consumers during the informed consent process of their vaccination. This includes
information on potential side effects, including rare side effects. In addition, the vaccinators at each site are
trained to discuss any concerns that the consumer may have.
Please provide informed consent paperwork (if any) and or if I was to walk into a pharmacy having
not read a Medsafe report I’m assuming the vaccinator will verbally inform me of the eighteen
serious side effects that Medsafe are monitoring?
If this is not completed why not? If persons are not informed of these side effects then this doesn’t
meet the definition of informed consent per what you provided? Yes or No.
As stated above the events that Medsafe are monitoring are not considered to be side effects. The known
side effects are detailed in the medicine data sheet. Discussion of adverse events that are not known side
effects of a medicine is not part of the informed consent process. All consumer information (referred to as
col ateral in some documents) provided at the point of vaccination is attached as Appendix 1.
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
With regard to the benefits latest Pfizer documentation has confirmed 12% efficacy in the first week
with a waning from there. Can you also confirm per Pfizer’s documents that people are notified that
there a limited benefits as per the informed consent definition?”
The informed consent process ensures that consumers are made aware of any risks prior to vaccination.
International literature on vaccine effectiveness (VE) for COVID-19 variants is regularly reviewed by the
COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group (CV TAG). Evidence shows VE against infection with Omicron is
around 55-70% after a booster dose. VE against hospitalisation increases from 60-70% after a primary
course of the Pfizer vaccine to ~90% after a Pfizer booster dose. The Ministry publishes monthly Variants
Updates that include data on vaccine effectiveness, found here:
www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-
coronavirus/covid-19-resources-and-tools/covid-19-science-news
Information on vaccine efficacy from clinical trials can also be found in the Comirnaty data sheet here:
www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/datasheet/c/comirnaty0.3mlGreyCapinj.pdf
How to get in contact
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman.
Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802
602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ has decided to proactively
release a copy of this response on Health NZ’s website. All requester data, including your name and contact
details, will be removed prior to release. The released response will be made available here.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Astrid Koornneef
Kaitohu | Director
National Immunisation Programme
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
83 Molesworth Street, PO Box
5013
