133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T +64 4 496 2000
W www.medsafe.govt.nz
T Baker
By email:
[FYI request #14899 email] Ref:
H202103824
Dear T Baker
Response to your request for official information Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) on 31 March 2021
for:
“1. Based on the benefit risk assessment, how many deaths are foreseen as a result of
adverse reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine?
2. Based on the benefit risk assessment, how many serious life threatening events are
foreseen as a result of adverse reactions to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine?
3. What are the age-stratified Covid-19 infection fatality rates (or similar) used in the
benefit risk assessment for unvaccinated individuals?
4. What are the age-stratified Covid-19 infection fatality rates (or similar) used in the
benefit risk assessment for vaccinated individuals?
5. What are the age-stratified Covid-19 hospitalisation rates (or similar) used in the benefit
risk assessment for unvaccinated individuals?
6. What are the age-stratified Covid-19 hospitalisation rates (or similar) used in the benefit
risk assessment for vaccinated individuals?
7. Based on the benefit risk assessment, how many lives are foreseen to be saved as a
result of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine programme? Please provide lives foreseen to be
saved given different vaccinated percentage of population.
8. Does the benefit risk assessment consider reopening of the borders, and free
movement of New Zealand citizens and residents, as a benefit of the Pfizer/BioNTech
vaccine programme? If so, when does the benefit risk assessment assume the New
Zealand border will be reopened to isolation-free travel of New Zealand citizens and
residents?
9. Does the benefit risk assessment consider reduced usage of Covid-19 Alert Level 2, 3
and 4 as a benefit of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine programme? If so, what is the
frequency reduction considered in the benefit risk assessment for Levels 2, 3 and 4?
10. Does the benefit risk assessment consider the elimination of all alert levels (including
level 1) as a benefit of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine programme? If so, when does the
benefit risk assessment assume this could be possible?
11. Who were the authors of the assessment? Was the assessment peer reviewed? If so,
who were the peer reviewers?
12. How many pages long is the official benefit risk assessment document?”
The Ministry of Health (the Ministry) does not hold any information within scope of your request.
Therefore, your request is refused under 18(e) that the information does not exist.
You may, however, want to review the PubMed website of the National Library of Medicine,
which is part of the National Institutes of Health, and has published articles on the safety and
efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, including:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33301246/.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any
decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at:
[email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response, with your personal details removed, may be published on the
Ministry website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-official-
information-act-requests. Yours sincerely
Chris James
Group Manager
Medsafe
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