133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T +64 4 496 2000
W www.medsafe.govt.nz
29 September 2022
ASE
By email: [FYI request #20490 email]
Ref:
H2022012274
Dear ASE,
Response to your request for official information Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to Manatū Hauora
(Ministry of Health) on 8 September 2022 for information regarding long term safety of COVID-19
vaccines.
Please find a response to each part of your request below:
“What information is held by The Ministry of Health regarding the possibility of long-term
adverse effects of these treatments, such as, but not limited to, adverse effects relating to
mortality, morbidity, fertility, or other detrimental public health outcomes?
eg, what evidence, both for and against, does The Ministry of Health rely on to assure the
public that these medical treatments are “safe” over a period of two years, and longer?
How has The Ministry of Health excluded possibilities of long-term adverse effects of these
particular treatments?”
Information on how Medsafe continuously monitor COVID-19 vaccine safety can be found on our
website, see links:
•
www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/monitoring-process.asp.
•
www.medsafe.govt.nz/Consumers/Safety-of-Medicines/Vaccine-safety.asp.
For each of the COVID-19 vaccines that are provisionally approved by Medsafe, there is also a
published Risk Management Plan, see link:
•
www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/status-of-applications.asp under ‘Documents’.
Risk management plans (RMPs) include information such as the known safety information for the
vaccines, measures to monitor the safety of the vaccines and plans for studies and other
activities to gain more knowledge about the safety of the vaccines. RMPs are continually updated
throughout the lifetime of the vaccine as new information becomes available, which is also a
requirement in the conditions for the provisional consent listed in the Gazette notice (see same
link).
What contingency plans have been considered by The Ministry of Health, if these
“vaccines” may prove to be unsafe, ineffective, unnecessary, and/or otherwise harmful to
personal health and/or public health (as “public health” is generally understood)? If this has
not been considered by The Ministry of Health, then why has this not been considered?”
This part of your request has been refused under section 18(g)(i) as the information requested is
not held by Manatū Hauora and there are no grounds for believing it is held by another agency
subject to the Act. While the Act allows New Zealanders to ask for information from Ministers and
government agencies, there is no requirement for agencies to create new information, compile
information they do not hold or provide or prove an opinion. Your questions and the statements
that support them appear designed to engage in a debate about the Government’s COVID-19
vaccination programme, rather than a request for official information. The Act does not support
requests where an opinion, comment, argument, or hypothetical statement is put to Manatū
Hauora for response, couched as a request for information.
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
Manatū Hauora website at:
www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-
official-information-act-requests.
Yours sincerely
Chris James
Group Manager
Medsafe
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