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

show quoted sections

Kia ora,

Thank you for your request for official information. The Minister’s Office reference number for your request is: CHOIA162

As required under the Official Information Act 1982, the Office will endeavour to respond to your request no later than 20 working days after the day your request was received. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can use the Ombudsman's online calculator here: http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Office is experiencing significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. If we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we will notify you of an extension of that time frame.

If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Ngâ mihi

Yuuki Smithers | 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

show quoted sections

Kia ora Annie,

 

Thank you for your request for official information. You asked:

 

“What is the NZ Govt's definition please of "fully vaccinated".

 

In relation to New Zealand's COVID-19 vaccination programme, using the
Pfizer vaccine, the Ministry of Health (the Ministry’s) considers
vaccination status as the following: 

 

Someone who is unvaccinated has not received any vaccination;  

Someone who has received one dose is partly vaccinated; and 

Someone who has received two doses is fully vaccinated. 

While these are the Ministry's definitions, it has no control over the
descriptors used by others. There is more information about COVID-19
vaccines
at: [1]www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-how-vaccine-works. 

The definitions used at the border, where someone has
been vaccinated overseas, are the same as those used for
people vaccinated in New Zealand, namely that one dose means a person is
partly vaccinated and two doses means they are fully vaccinated. However,
if the person has received the Johnson & Johnson Janssen vaccine overseas
(which is a single-dose vaccine), they are deemed fully vaccinated with
one dose.

 

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.

 

Ngâ mihi

 

[2]cid:image001.jpg@01D7B3B9.BED43960 Yuuki
Smithers |
(Acting)
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

show quoted sections

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

show quoted sections

Kia ora Annie,

On behalf of Hon Chris Hipkins, Minister for COVID-19 Response, thank you for your further email.

At this time, someone who has received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine is deemed fully vaccinated. However, we cannot confirm that this will always be the case as it is based on evolving public health advice around booster doses. We appreciate that people want more certainty at this time; however, the evolving global situation and emerging variants means that we must continually ensure our approach is as up to date as possible.

You may be interested to know that a person’s My Vaccine Pass is valid for 6 months from date of issue. This is because booster shots may be required to ensure ongoing protection against COVID-19, and because temporary medical exemptions are only valid for 6 months. If vaccination passes are still required after a pass has expired, you will need to request another one to prove your vaccinations are current. Please note that at the moment, you do not need to have a booster dose to be ‘fully vaccinated’ for My Vaccine Pass or an International Travel Vaccination Certificate. If you do get a booster dose, it will be added to My Covid Record and you can create another pass.

The Ministry of Health is continuing to monitor international research and developments of COVID-19 vaccines. Pfizer has released preliminary trial data indicating that a booster dose showed a relative vaccine efficacy of 95.6 percent against symptomatic disease (predominantly Delta-variant), when compared to those who did not receive a booster (only received two primary doses). It is for this reason that we are encouraging people to receive a booster shot of the vaccine 6 months after their primary course to ensure they are as protected as possible. More information about booster doses is avialable at https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccine... and https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise....

I trust this information 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.

Thank you again for taking the time to write.

Ngâ mihi,
Lydia

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

show quoted sections