7 February 2023
Joe McPhee
[FYI request #21405 email]
Tēnā koe Joe
Your Official Information Act request, reference: HNZ0009034
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) received by Te Whatu
Ora Health New Zealand on 20 December 2022 which requested:
“A list of all celebrities, politicians, media personalities, social media influencers, that
were paid to promote/advertise the covid-19 vaccine, and how much they were paid.”
Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand have not directly funded any incentives for getting vaccinated,
which includes the paid promotion of the COVID-19 vaccine. However, it is important to note that
functions that formal y sat with the Ministry of Health, and now with Te Whatu Ora, have previously
distributed vaccination-related funding to other agencies including the Health Districts, formally
known as District Health Boards (DHBs). These agencies may have then provided funding to
community organisations that offer incentives for getting vaccinated.
If you wish to seek further information from the Health Districts, you can find their websites at
www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/keeping-well/health-info-for-public/district-health-websites/
Therefore, your request for information regarding social media spending is refused under section
18(e), on the basis that the information requested does not exist.
How to get in contact
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[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
Astrid Koornneef
Interim Director, Prevention
National Public – Health Service
Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
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