Kia ora

 

Thank you for taking the time to write to Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister for
COVID-19 Response, Minister of Education, Minister for the Public Sector
and Leader of the House. We are receiving a significant amount of
correspondence at the moment and, although your email will be carefully
considered and noted, it is not possible to respond to each individual
email.

 

For the latest updates on COVID-19, we encourage you to regularly check
the dedicated [1]COVID-19 and [2]Ministry of Health websites regularly.
They will be updated as soon as new information is available.

 

If your query is in regards to the COVID-19 vaccine, there are substantive
resources about our COVID-19 vaccine planning and our COVID-19 vaccine
strategy on the dedicated COVID-19 website
here: [3]https://covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellb...
or the Ministry of Health website
here: [4]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise....

 

Please remember to take care, and be kind. We have beaten COVID-19 before,
and we can do it again.

Ngā mihi,

Office of Hon Chris Hipkins

Minister for COVID-19 Response | Minister of Education | Minister for the
Public Sector | Leader of the House | MP for Remutaka

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References

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1. https://covid19.govt.nz/
2. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
3. https://covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellb...
4. https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...

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Kia ora Ross

Thank you for your email received 29 July 2021 in which you submitted a request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister for COVID-19 Response. You requested:

“…copies of all information your office has received about premature deaths in Norway probably caused by the Pfizer vaccine, and all information about premature deaths in New Zealand potentially caused by the same vaccine ...

... How many under 16-year-olds have been given one or two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and how many of these reportable events have been reported to the Centre of Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM)? ...

a copy of the relevant pamphlets, and all details about the potential side effects which are discussed with vaccine recipients."

I sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to you and for not responding to you within the specified 20 working days after your request was received as per section 15 (1) of the Act.

The first part of your request, ”…copies of all information your office has received about premature deaths in Norway probably caused by the Pfizer vaccine, and all information about premature deaths in New Zealand potentially caused by the same vaccine ..." is refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, as it is not held by this office and there are no grounds for believing it is held by another agency subject to the Act. I understand that the Ministry of Health has already provided you with this response, as attached.

For the second part of your request, “How many under 16-year-olds have been given one or two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and how many of these reportable events have been reported to the Centre of Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM)?” please find attached data about the number of individuals aged 12-15 years old vaccinated against COVID-19, broken down by day and number of doses, as at 24 August 2021 attached. As you will be aware, the Government announced on Thursday 19 August that it had approved the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds in New Zealand, following Medsafe’s provisional approval in June. More information is available at https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccine....

The third part of your request, " a copy of the relevant pamphlets, and all details about the potential side effects which are discussed with vaccine recipients" is refused under section 18(d) of the Act as it is already publicly available. You can find the information at https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/.... More publicly available information about potential side effects is available on the Unite Against COVID-19 website at https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccine..., and information about flyers, videos and posters can be found at https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccine....

I understand that you have already contacted the Ombudsman about this request, and I encourage you to continue to engage with them if you have any further concerns.

Ngâ mihi

Lydia Verschaffelt | Health Private Secretary
Office of Hon Chris Hipkins
Minister for COVID-19 Response | Minister of Education | Minister for the Public Service | Leader of the House
Parliament Buildings, Private Bag 18041, Wellington 6160, New Zealand

-----Original Message-----
From: Ross Francis [mailto:[FOI #16247 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 29 July 2021 6:44 PM
To: C Hipkins (MIN) <[Chris Hipkins request email]>
Subject: Official Information request - Covid-19 Vaccine - Premature Deaths - Ref: OIA0269

Dear Chris Hipkins,

In May 2021, a Norwegian expert group reported its findings into 100 premature deaths. It found that the deaths of ten people were probably caused by the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. The experts found that a further 26 deaths were possibly caused by the vaccine.

Please supply me with copies of all information your office has received about premature deaths in Norway probably caused by the Pfizer vaccine, and all information about premature deaths in New Zealand potentially caused by the same vaccine.

By 22 June 2021, 11 under 16-year-olds had been given one dose of the Pfizer vaccine, while two under 16-year-olds had been given two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. This is despite the fact that the vaccine has not been approved for those aged under 16. How many under 16-year-olds have been given one or two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and how many of these reportable events have been reported to the Centre of Adverse Reactions Monitoring (CARM)?

The Health Ministry advises that people receiving the vaccine are given pamphlets by a healthcare professional who explains the potential side effects prior to the vaccine being administered. Please supply me with a copy of the relevant pamphlets, and all details about the potential side effects which are discussed with vaccine recipients.

Yours faithfully,

Ross Francis

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This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.

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