30 August 2023
Chris McCashin
[FYI request #23749 email]
Kia ora Chris
Your Official Information Act request, reference: GOV-027080
Thank you for your request of 15 August 2023, asking for information about COVID-19 vaccine treatment
injury claims under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). I will respond to each of your questions in
turn.
Of the 1,585 claims accepted can you tell me if any of these people have since passed away?
From the 1,585 accepted claims included in the July 2023 COVID-19 vaccination claims refresh, there has
been one additional death. This brings the total to five.
If the illness was bad enough that people were paid out in excess of $100,000 then what is the status of
the people that have been paid out? Money doesn't fix their illness so who is monitoring their health
going forward?
ACC’s function is to support people with injuries. Accepted COVID-19 vaccine treatment injury claims, as
with all covered claims, means ACC provides support based on a person’s circumstances and needs. This
support is available for the length of time it takes the client to recover, and where there is medical evidence
that their ongoing incapacity is caused by their injury. Treatment pathways are determined by the client’s
health practitioners. For more information on this, please refer to: www.acc.co.nz/im-injured/types-of-
ongoing-support/.
If somebody dies from the complications from the injury then surely there is a causal link to the vaccine
and impacts the safety profile?
Under the Act a distinction exists between a request for information already known and held by an agency
(official information), versus a request for an agency to form an opinion or provide a comment, and thus
create new information to answer a request (not official information). This question asks ACC to provide a
comment or explanation and is therefore not considered to be requesting official information under the
Act. Accordingly, we are refusing to respond to this part.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public
ACC has decided to proactively release a copy of this response on ACC’s website. All requester data,
including your name and contact details, will be removed prior to release. The released response will be
made available
www.acc.co.nz/resources/#/category/12. If you have any questions about this response, please get in touch
You can email me at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you can also
contact the Ombudsman
via [email address] or by phoning 0800 802 602. Information
about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz. Ngā mihi
Sara Freitag
Acting Manager Official Information Act Services
Government Engagement
GOV-027080 Page 1 of 1
Document Outline
