133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T +64 4 496 2000
W www.medsafe.govt.nz
29 October 2021
Logan
By email: [FYI request #17061 email]
Ref:
H202114950
Tēnā koe Logan
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) on 26 October 2021
for:
“My request was seeking the communications surrounding the decision to remove this
statement. Please provide any and all meeting minutes, internal emails etc that are
relevant to the edits made to that page.”
There was no meeting to discuss the removal of this statement on the Medsafe website. The
decision to remove this statement from the website was verbal, therefore your request is
refused under section 18(e) of the Act, that the information requested does not exist.
Medsafe did not receive data on risk of transmission from randomised controlled trials submitted
with the vaccine application. However, since approval significant evidence has been published
indicating reductions in transmission of COVID-19 from the Pfizer Comirnaty vaccine.
Medsafe considered the public could be confused by the messages. Therefore, Medsafe chose
to remove that sentence from the website as it was not conducive to keeping the public
informed regarding the latest research about vaccines reducing transmission.
A summary of currently available data regarding transmission of COVID-19 can be found on the
US CDC science brief page here:
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-
briefs/fully-vaccinated-people.html. Medsafe publishes up to date information regarding the Comirnaty vaccine, including its clinical
efficacy and safet
y:www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/PUArticles/June2021/Spotlight-on-Comirnaty-
vaccine.html. Information regarding the approval process of the vaccine can be found here:
www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/vaccine-approval-process.asp.
More scientific studies and research regarding the vaccine can be found on PubMed
here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ and the New England Journal of Medicine here:
https://www.nejm.org/coronavirus.
I trust this fulfils your request. 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 of Health website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases. Nāku noa, nā
Catherine Marnane
Acting Group Manger
Medsafe
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