1 November 2022
S Hill
[FYI request #20907 email]
Tēnā koe S Hill,
Your Official Information Act request, reference: HNZ00005360
Thank you for your email on 25 October 2022 asking for the following which has been considered
under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act):
“Under the Official Information Act, I request answers to the following:
1. In the time period leading up to October 2022, was the Ministry of Health aware that
Pfizer did NOT test whether the COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission of the virus
before it entered the market.
2. At what point was the Minsitry of Health made aware that Pfizer did NOT test whether
the COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission of the virus before it entered the market.
3. Has the revelation that Pfizer did NOT test whether the COVID-19 vaccine prevented
transmission of the virus before it entered the market had any effect on Ministry of Health
guidance or policy?”
Please see the response to your request outlined below:
1. In the time period leading up to October 2022, was the Ministry of Health aware that
Pfizer did NOT test whether the COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission of the virus
before it entered the market.
The application for approval by Medsafe did not include any information on transmission as this
was not studied in the clinical trial. Therefore, the indication does not include anything about
transmission.
2. At what point was the Minsitry of Health made aware that Pfizer did NOT test whether
the COVID-19 vaccine prevented transmission of the virus before it entered the market.
As above.
3. Has the revelation that Pfizer did NOT test whether the COVID-19 vaccine prevented
transmission of the virus before it entered the market had any effect on Ministry of Health
guidance or policy?
Ministry of Health guidance and policy is based on consideration to several factors (such as
COVID-19 transmission), including the primary goal of preventing severe disease/ death.
Once vaccines are approved by Medsafe, the Ministry is advised by the COVID-19 Vaccine
Technical Advisory Group (CV TAG) on the use of COVID-19 vaccines. In its recommendations on
the decision to use, CV TAG considers a breadth of evidence, including vaccine effectiveness
against infection, transmission and severe disease/death. For more information on
recommendations issued by CV TAG, you can refer to:
COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory
Group (CV TAG) | Ministry of Health NZ
The Ministry of Health continues to monitor evidence on transmission, which is not just limited to
clinical data from vaccine companies (e.g. Pfizer), but also includes evidence from real world
studies. The latest Variants Update includes a section on vaccine effectiveness against
transmission, which is publicly available here:
https://www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-
coronavirus/covid-19-resources-and-tools/covid-19-science-news
How to get in contact
If you have any questions, you can contact us a
t [email address].
If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or
by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Health NZ may proactively
release a copy of this response on Health NZ’s website. Al requester data, including your name
and contact details, wil be removed prior to release. The released response wil be made available
on our website.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sasha Wood
Interim Lead OIA & Proactive Release
Government Partnership and Risk
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
