133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
20 April 2021
Tania Marinkovich
By email:
[FYI request #14962 email]
[email address]
Ref:
H202104616
Dear Tania Marinkovich
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your requests under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Ministry of
Health (the Ministry) for information about the Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine.
On 16 April 2021, in response to a letter and an email from the Ministry about “the ramifications
of mass vaccinations,” you sent the following email:
“These are the side effects for the Pfizer vaccine as listed on Vigiaccess collaborating with
WHO
Blood and lymphatic system disorders (21235)
Cardiac disorders (18884)
Congenital, familial and genetic disorders (127)
Ear and labyrinth disorders (13770)
Endocrine disorders (278)
Eye disorders (16150)
Gastrointestinal disorders (120915)
General disorders and administration site conditions (339661)
Hepatobiliary disorders (498)
Immune system disorders (5677)
Infections and infestations (24777)
Injury, poisoning and procedural complications (12693)
Investigations (32217)
Metabolism and nutrition disorders (12327)
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders (175197)
Neoplasms benign, malignant and unspecified (incl cysts and polyps) (319)
Nervous system disorders (244126)
Pregnancy, puerperium and perinatal conditions (386)
Product issues (351)
Psychiatric disorders (20259)
Renal and urinary disorders (3175)
Reproductive system and breast disorders (3856)
Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders (43986)
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders (65073)
Social circumstances (1672)
Surgical and medical procedures (2060)
Vascular disorders (21644)
This is what our government has listed:
pain at the injection site
a headache
feeling tired or fatigued
muscle aches
feeling generally unwell
chills
fever
joint pain
nausea...”
Later in the same day (16 April), you sent this email:
“Please provide the New Zealand Public with a full list of all injuries and deaths caused by
the Pfizer covid 19 vaccine so far.”
As both requests were made on the same day and are about the same subject, the Ministry is
responding to them in one response.
Regarding your first request, as far as it is possible to ascertain, it appears you are asking the
Ministry to comment on a list of adverse drug reactions listed on the VigiAccess website of the
Uppsala Monitoring Centre and the WHO Programme for International Drug Monitoring, and
those listed by Medsafe, New Zealand’s Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority.
While the Act enables people to request official information from the Ministry, it only applies to
information it holds. There is no obligation to create information in order to respond to requests,
nor is the Ministry obliged to prove an opinion. This query, and those that preceded it, appear to
be efforts to engage in a debate about the merits of COVID-19 vaccination, rather than a
legitimate request to the Ministry for official information. The Act does not support requests in
which a requester quotes information and then seeks some form of comment on it, couched as
a request for official information. I am, therefore, refusing this part of your request, under section
18(g)(i) of the Act, as the information requested is not held by the Ministry and there are no
grounds for believing it is held by another agency subject to the Act.
Regarding your second request, safety reports of adverse events following immunisation (AEFI)
with COVID-19 vaccines are published at:
www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/vaccine-report-
overview.asp. As at 13 March 2021, 215 cumulative AEFI have been reported, six of which were
deemed serious. There were no deaths. I am, therefore, refusing this part of your request under
section 18(d) of the Act on the grounds that the information is publicly available.
As you have previously been advised, 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.
Yours sincerely
Nick Allan
Manager, OIA Services
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