Only 200 out of 100,00 doses of Astra Zeneca received in New Zealand available to the public

M.R.M. made this Official Information request to Chris Hipkins

Response to this request is long overdue. By law Chris Hipkins should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.

From: M.R.M.

Dear Chris Hipkins,

I long ago indicated to my health services provider that I do not want the Pfizer vaccination and that I want the Astra Zeneca vaccination instead.

Having read in the media last week that 100,000 doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccination had landed in New Zealand, reportedly from Australia, I contacted my health services provider and asked for them to arrange for me to receive both vaccinations with this product.

Today I received a call from a Nurse employed by my health services provider who told me that their practice is not on the government list of "approved vaccinators" in the Waikato District, and, that only 200 doses had been made available. She also mentioned that there are other patients enrolled at their practice who want this product rather than the Pfizer product.

Can you please provide me with a full and complete explanation as to how the government has decided to split up the 100,000 doses across New Zealand. The details I am seeking are a) the name of the practice, pharmacy or other medical facility and b) the doses made available to each of the aforementioned.

This is an urgent information request because there is clearly a dire shortage of the Astra Zenica product, and, I want to ensure I am the recipient of two doses in the Waikato District.

Yours faithfully,

M.R.M.

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From: C Hipkins (MIN)
Chris Hipkins

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. However, please note that
this is an automatic response and we will endeavour to respond to your
individual queries as soon as we can.

You can find the latest information and guidance about Alert Levels at
[1]https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and...
The locations of interest are set out
at [2]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
encourage anyone who has been at one of the locations of interest at the
time specified to self-isolate and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453. You
can find the nearest testing centre to you
at [3]https://www.healthpoint.co.nz/covid-19/.

We appreciate that this is a challenging time. If you need to talk, you
can call or text 1737 at any time. Mental health and wellbeing resources
are also available
at [4]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
about the financial support available to individuals and businesses can be
found at [5]https://covid19.govt.nz/business-and-mon....

We also understand that there are several other aspects to the response
that are very important to people. You can find more information about:

o Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ)
at [6]https://www.miq.govt.nz/, including how to request an emergency
allocation
at [7]https://www.miq.govt.nz/travel-to-new-ze...
make a complaint or request a review of your application by
emailing [8]https://www.miq.govt.nz/about/contact-us....
o Travel with Australia
at [9]https://covid19.govt.nz/travel/quarantin...
you are in Australia, please register
at [10]https://www.safetravel.govt.nz/ and if it is an emergency,
contact the Consulate on +64 99 20 20 20.
o Vaccines at [11]https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccines/, including
how to book your vaccine
at [12]https://bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz/... by calling 0800 28
29 26.
o Vaccine data and statistics
at [13]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Medsafe’s vaccine safety monitoring reports
at [14]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/vac...
o The Government’s plan to reconnect New Zealand with the rest of the
world
at [16]https://covid19.govt.nz/reconnecting-new....

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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