12 December 2022
S Hill
[FYI request #20908 email]
Dear S
Thank you for your Official Information Act request, received on 28 November 2022.
You requested:
1. At the time of negotiation with Pfizer for the COVID-19 vaccine, was the
Minster of Finance aware that Pfizer did NOT test whether the COVID-19 vaccine
prevented transmission of the virus before it entered the market?
2. Is the Minster of Finance currently aware that Pfizer did NOT test whether the
COVID[1]19 vaccine prevented transmission of the virus before it entered the
market?
Medsafe provides independent advice to the Government and approves all medicines
and vaccine available in New Zealand. Medsafe evaluates applications to ensure that
they comply with international standards and local requirements for quality, and that the
expected benefits outweigh the risks of harm in the intended treatment population. Only
then will Medsafe recommend approval for use in New Zealand.
Medsafe first recommended provisional approval to the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for
active immunisation to prevent COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 in February 2021.
Through the regulatory approval process, Medsafe concluded that the Pfizer vaccine has
been tested and was safe and effective for the vaccine’s use to protect individuals from
the virus in New Zealand.
I do not hold any specific information about whether Pfizer had tested its COVID-19
vaccine for prevention of transmission of the virus prior to the vaccine entering the world
market. Accordingly, I refuse your request under section 18(e) of the Act on the basis
that the information does not exist.
You can find additional information on:
Medsafe’s COVID-19 vaccine approval process
at COVID-19 Vaccine Approval
Process (medsafe.govt.nz).
COVID-19 variant transmission at
COVID-19: Science news | Ministry of Health
NZ.
The COVID-19 Vaccine Technical Advisor Group’s advice at
COVID-19 Vaccine
Technical Advisory Group (CV TAG) | Ministry of Health NZ
This reply addresses the information you requested. You have the right to ask the
Ombudsman to investigate and review my decision.
Yours sincerely
Hon Grant Robertson
Minister of Finance