Number of COVID19 vax deaths by age band, location and month
Chris Johnston made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Ministry of Health should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
From: Chris Johnston
Dear Ministry of Health,
Can you please provide a count of the number of people vaccinated against COVID19 funded by the government of NZ and those who subsequently died of any cause - as measured by MoH record level patient or payment databases.
Please provide this as a machine readable CSV file.
Dataset 1 - Vaccinations
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Month of vaccination - from the first vaccination until the end of Nov 2023
2) Vaccination number (eg 1=1st, 2=2nd, 3=1st booster, 4=2nd booster etc) using a coding scheme used within the MoH
3) Location - Territorial Local Authority (ie Council area) based grouped into The following categories: Auckland, Greater Wellington (incld Wairarapa), Christchurch, Dunedin, Rest of South Island, Lower North Island (including Taranaki and Gisborne but excluding Taupo and King Country), Uppoer Nirth Island. Ideally this is the physical vaccinating provider paid. Ideally derived from the location the injection was given (eg Rest Home for a mobile clinic - which is possible because the address of the patient’s NHI number will be the rest home, or the physical address of a physical site like a pharmacy/GP clinic).
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59 inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Intentionally blank - null
6) Death Last Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180 days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095 days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should be calculated from the date of the patients’s most recent vaccine and a suffix appended depending upon the number of their last vaccine (eg “<30_5” would be coded against a patient who died within 30 days of their 5th jab/3rd booster
7) Intentionally blank - null
8) The count of the number of vaccination injections in each of the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the vaccination month in each of the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
So for example, a group of 1000 70 year old people who were injected in June 2023 with their 3rd injection where 7 people died after 4 months (in Oct 2023) after visiting an ER would appear in a record like the following:
202307, 3, “Auckland”, “60-74”,”>null_1”, “91-180_3”, “null”, 1000, “7”
Similarly there be no recorded deaths for 366 days and over because this is in the future after this dataset is being summarised.
If there were 1234 1st injections and no deaths within 30 days of Feb 2022 for teenagers, but 3 / 345 within 2 months and 10 / 456 in month 4 then the records might look like:
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “<30_1”, “N”, 1234, “0”
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “31-90_1”, “null”, 345, “S” (see below re use of “S”)
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “91_180_1”,“null”, 456, “10”
Dataset 2 - Benchmark Total Vaccinations and Deaths
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Month of vaccination - from the first vaccination until the end of Nov 2023
2) Vaccination number (eg 1=1st, 2=2nd, 3=1st booster, 4=2nd booster etc) using a coding scheme used within the MoH
3) Intentionally blank - null
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59 inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Death First Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180 days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095 days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should be calculated from the date of the patients’s first injection and a suffix “_1” appended
6) Death Last Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180 days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095 days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should be calculated from the date of the patients’s most recent vaccine and a suffix appended depending upon the number of their last vaccine (eg “<30_5” would be coded against a patient who died within 30 days of their 5th jab/3rd booster)
7) ER Visit - a “E” if the patient visited a hospital Emergency Room for any reason between their last injection and their date of death inclusive. Otherwise “N”.
8) The count of the number of vaccination injections in each of the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the vaccination month in each of the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
Dataset 3 - Control Group
For anyone in the NHI dataset who is NOT in the COVID Vax Pay per Dose database but is enrolled with a GP Practice in NZ, please produce the following dataset.
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Date of 1st COVID19 injection in NZ - this will be the same value for each row
2) Vaccination number - 0 - the same for all rows
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59 inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Death Period - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180 days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095 days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should be calculated from the date in column (1) of this dataset and a suffix “_0” appended
8) Size of Control at start - The count of the number of people in each of the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) Death count - The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the date in column (1) in each of the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
For all Datasets please provide a list of codes used and descriptions, and a description of the file format.
A Reasonable OIA with Precedent
This OIA should be possible by using simple queries on the entire datasets of COVID Vax Pay per Dose and National Minimum Dataset of Hospital data - matched using the NHI number. My understanding is the Pay Per Dose dataset is about 12m records.
This OIA does not ask for the creation of any information, just the aggregation of a data set the MoH already collects as a normal course of its business.
This OIA does not seek any personal or commercial information about patients or suppliers. Where a cell count in column (7) or (8) is less than 5 please mark as “S”. Where a cell count in column (7) is truely zero this should not occur in the dataset.
I am a NZ citizen, resident and taxpayer and am entitled to use the OIA.
There is precedent for the MoH answering previous data requests of this type as per this one: https://fyi.org.nz/request/12581-deaths-...
Ways of Working
Under the OIA the MoH is obliged to consult with me if there are any questions or where there may be a way for me to simplify the request so that it is reasonable. This must be done before refusing no matter what your belief is because you do not understand my purpose and what trade offs are possible. However I put it to you ahead of time that it would take a competent SQL developer + checking the numbers a shorter/similar amount of time than if I requested any relevant documents/emails and they all had to be reviewed for redaction.
Please provide contact details if you want to talk through any questions and then we will document the outcome in writing through this channel. We have used this method before at the request of the Ombudsman so it would seem like a good way to assist the MoH to meet its KPIs for OIAs.
Please raise any questions ASAP and do not leave it until near the end of the 20 working day period to respond.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Johnston
From: OIA Requests
Tçnâ koe Chris
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the
Act) to Manatû Hauora (the Ministry of Health) on 4 December 2023.
Manatû Hauora does not hold any information relating to your request;
however, I have been advised that this information is held by Te Whatu Ora
– Health New Zealand. For this reason, I have decided to transfer your
request to their agency under section 14(b)(i) of the Act. You can expect
a response from Te Whatu Ora ([1][email address]) in due course.
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: [2][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngâ mihi
OIA Services Team
Manatû Hauora | Ministry of Health
M[3]inistry of Health information releases
------------------- Original Message -------------------
From: Chris Johnston <[FOI #25021 email]>;
Received: Mon Dec 04 2023 23:43:03 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>; OIA <[email address]>;
Subject: Official Information request - Number of COVID19 vax deaths by
age band, location and month
Dear Ministry of Health,
Can you please provide a count of the number of people vaccinated against
COVID19 funded by the government of NZ and those who subsequently died of
any cause - as measured by MoH record level patient or payment databases.
Please provide this as a machine readable CSV file.
Dataset 1 - Vaccinations
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Month of vaccination - from the first vaccination until the end of Nov
2023
2) Vaccination number (eg 1=1st, 2=2nd, 3=1st booster, 4=2nd booster etc)
using a coding scheme used within the MoH
3) Location - Territorial Local Authority (ie Council area) based grouped
into The following categories: Auckland, Greater Wellington (incld
Wairarapa), Christchurch, Dunedin, Rest of South Island, Lower North
Island (including Taranaki and Gisborne but excluding Taupo and King
Country), Uppoer Nirth Island. Ideally this is the physical vaccinating
provider paid. Ideally derived from the location the injection was given
(eg Rest Home for a mobile clinic - which is possible because the address
of the patient’s NHI number will be the rest home, or the physical address
of a physical site like a pharmacy/GP clinic).
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59
inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Intentionally blank - null
6) Death Last Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180
days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095
days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should
be calculated from the date of the patients’s most recent vaccine and a
suffix appended depending upon the number of their last vaccine (eg
“<30_5” would be coded against a patient who died within 30 days of their
5th jab/3rd booster
7) Intentionally blank - null
8) The count of the number of vaccination injections in each of the
categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied
using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the
vaccination month in each of the categories above when the underlying
dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or
similar for this column.
So for example, a group of 1000 70 year old people who were injected in
June 2023 with their 3rd injection where 7 people died after 4 months (in
Oct 2023) after visiting an ER would appear in a record like the
following:
202307, 3, “Auckland”, “60-74”,”>null_1”, “91-180_3”, “null”, 1000, “7”
Similarly there be no recorded deaths for 366 days and over because this
is in the future after this dataset is being summarised.
If there were 1234 1st injections and no deaths within 30 days of Feb 2022
for teenagers, but 3 / 345 within 2 months and 10 / 456 in month 4 then
the records might look like:
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “<30_1”, “N”, 1234, “0”
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “31-90_1”, “null”, 345, “S” (see below
re use of “S”)
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “91_180_1”,“null”, 456, “10”
Dataset 2 - Benchmark Total Vaccinations and Deaths
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Month of vaccination - from the first vaccination until the end of Nov
2023
2) Vaccination number (eg 1=1st, 2=2nd, 3=1st booster, 4=2nd booster etc)
using a coding scheme used within the MoH
3) Intentionally blank - null
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59
inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Death First Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive,
91-180 days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to
1095 days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories
should be calculated from the date of the patients’s first injection and a
suffix “_1” appended
6) Death Last Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180
days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095
days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should
be calculated from the date of the patients’s most recent vaccine and a
suffix appended depending upon the number of their last vaccine (eg
“<30_5” would be coded against a patient who died within 30 days of their
5th jab/3rd booster)
7) ER Visit - a “E” if the patient visited a hospital Emergency Room for
any reason between their last injection and their date of death inclusive.
Otherwise “N”.
8) The count of the number of vaccination injections in each of the
categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied
using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the
vaccination month in each of the categories above when the underlying
dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or
similar for this column.
Dataset 3 - Control Group
For anyone in the NHI dataset who is NOT in the COVID Vax Pay per Dose
database but is enrolled with a GP Practice in NZ, please produce the
following dataset.
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Date of 1st COVID19 injection in NZ - this will be the same value for
each row
2) Vaccination number - 0 - the same for all rows
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59
inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Death Period - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180
days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095
days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should
be calculated from the date in column (1) of this dataset and a suffix
“_0” appended
8) Size of Control at start - The count of the number of people in each of
the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query
applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) Death count - The count of the number of people who subsequently died
after the date in column (1) in each of the categories above when the
underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct
NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
For all Datasets please provide a list of codes used and descriptions, and
a description of the file format.
A Reasonable OIA with Precedent
This OIA should be possible by using simple queries on the entire datasets
of COVID Vax Pay per Dose and National Minimum Dataset of Hospital data -
matched using the NHI number. My understanding is the Pay Per Dose dataset
is about 12m records.
This OIA does not ask for the creation of any information, just the
aggregation of a data set the MoH already collects as a normal course of
its business.
This OIA does not seek any personal or commercial information about
patients or suppliers. Where a cell count in column (7) or (8) is less
than 5 please mark as “S”. Where a cell count in column (7) is truely zero
this should not occur in the dataset.
I am a NZ citizen, resident and taxpayer and am entitled to use the OIA.
There is precedent for the MoH answering previous data requests of this
type as per this one:
[4]https://aus01.safelinks.protection.outlo...
Ways of Working
Under the OIA the MoH is obliged to consult with me if there are any
questions or where there may be a way for me to simplify the request so
that it is reasonable. This must be done before refusing no matter what
your belief is because you do not understand my purpose and what trade
offs are possible. However I put it to you ahead of time that it would
take a competent SQL developer + checking the numbers a shorter/similar
amount of time than if I requested any relevant documents/emails and they
all had to be reviewed for redaction.
Please provide contact details if you want to talk through any questions
and then we will document the outcome in writing through this channel. We
have used this method before at the request of the Ombudsman so it would
seem like a good way to assist the MoH to meet its KPIs for OIAs.
Please raise any questions ASAP and do not leave it until near the end of
the 20 working day period to respond.
Yours faithfully,
Chris Johnston
****************************************************************************
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attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
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References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[email address]
3. https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
4. https://fyi.org.nz/request/12581-deaths-...
hide quoted sections
From: hnzOIA
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for contacting Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ. This is an automatic
reply to confirm that we have received your email. Depending on the
nature of your request you may not receive a response for up to 20 working
days. We will try to respond to your query as quickly as possible.
Ngā mihi
Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ.
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************
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From: Chris Johnston
Dear Health NZ / Ministry of Health
I notice the referral between your agencies of this OIA request.
It would be unfortunate and cause delays if this referral was inappropriate and we find out late in the process that (for example) Health NZ cannot answer or fulfill the query.
This referral also contradicts other information in the public domain that suggests that database analysts in the MoH can undertake this type of analysis.
Given your communication is about the OIA I will regard this as you consulting with me as part of your obligation under the Official Information Act. As such your reply to my next questions will be prompt and be with the aim to facilitate your obligations to successfully conclude this OIA within the statutory timeframes.
My questions are:
1) What is the basis on which this is being transferred because you believe the information is held or available elsewhere?
2) Please confirm that you have the ability to answer the OIA in the required statutory timeframe.
3) Please provide proof or detailed reasoning that your answer in (1) and (2) is the case. For example you might say that while MoH analysts have access to a database that Health NZ physically hosts the required databases and the MoH has no copy.
4) Do you have any conflicts of interest that will prevent you answering my OIA to the best of your ability? For example if you believe your organisation is unable to answer this OIA because of a known and recognised public liability, court action or criminal culpability of an employee …. In which case you would say “yes we have a conflict therefore we need to refer the query on to an org that can also answer, even though we have the technical capability to answer”.
I do not need to know the detail here but would be satisfied that it is clear the reason for the referral and that the alt org can equally answer (if they also confirm they can answer and have no conflict).
The questions above are to both of your respective organisations. Where only one of you receive this communication then please forward to the other party because it is your referral action that has caused the lines of communication to blur and the beginning of this consultation.
Where it is established that the MiH has the technical capability to answer this OIA I put it to you that the 20 days starts from the date of receipt regardless of the referral.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: hnzOIA
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for contacting Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ. This is an automatic
reply to confirm that we have received your email. Depending on the
nature of your request you may not receive a response for up to 20 working
days. We will try to respond to your query as quickly as possible.
Ngā mihi
Te Whatu Ora, Health NZ.
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************
hide quoted sections
From: hnzOIA
Tēnā koe Chris
Thank you for your email of 06 December 2023, asking for the following
information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Can you please provide a count of the number of people vaccinated against
COVID19 funded by the government of NZ and those who subsequently died of
any cause - as measured by MoH record level patient or payment databases.
Please provide this as a machine readable CSV file.
Dataset 1 - Vaccinations
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Month of vaccination - from the first vaccination until the end of Nov
2023
2) Vaccination number (eg 1=1st, 2=2nd, 3=1st booster, 4=2nd booster etc)
using a coding scheme used within the MoH
3) Location - Territorial Local Authority (ie Council area) based grouped
into The following categories: Auckland, Greater Wellington (incld
Wairarapa), Christchurch, Dunedin, Rest of South Island, Lower North
Island (including Taranaki and Gisborne but excluding Taupo and King
Country), Uppoer Nirth Island. Ideally this is the physical vaccinating
provider paid. Ideally derived from the location the injection was given
(eg Rest Home for a mobile clinic - which is possible because the address
of the patient’s NHI number will be the rest home, or the physical address
of a physical site like a pharmacy/GP clinic).
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59
inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Intentionally blank - null
6) Death Last Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180
days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095
days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should
be calculated from the date of the patients’s most recent vaccine and a
suffix appended depending upon the number of their last vaccine (eg
“<30_5” would be coded against a patient who died within 30 days of their
5th jab/3rd booster
7) Intentionally blank - null
8) The count of the number of vaccination injections in each of the
categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied
using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the
vaccination month in each of the categories above when the underlying
dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or
similar for this column.
So for example, a group of 1000 70 year old people who were injected in
June 2023 with their 3rd injection where 7 people died after 4 months (in
Oct 2023) after visiting an ER would appear in a record like the
following:
202307, 3, “Auckland”, “60-74”,”>null_1”, “91-180_3”, “null”, 1000, “7”
Similarly there be no recorded deaths for 366 days and over because this
is in the future after this dataset is being summarised.
If there were 1234 1st injections and no deaths within 30 days of Feb 2022
for teenagers, but 3 / 345 within 2 months and 10 / 456 in month 4 then
the records might look like:
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “<30_1”, “N”, 1234, “0”
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “31-90_1”, “null”, 345, “S” (see below
re use of “S”)
202202, 1, Dunedin, “<19”, “null”, “91_180_1”,“null”, 456, “10”
Dataset 2 - Benchmark Total Vaccinations and Deaths
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Month of vaccination - from the first vaccination until the end of Nov
2023
2) Vaccination number (eg 1=1st, 2=2nd, 3=1st booster, 4=2nd booster etc)
using a coding scheme used within the MoH
3) Intentionally blank - null
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59
inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Death First Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive,
91-180 days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to
1095 days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories
should be calculated from the date of the patients’s first injection and a
suffix “_1” appended
6) Death Last Dose - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180
days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095
days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should
be calculated from the date of the patients’s most recent vaccine and a
suffix appended depending upon the number of their last vaccine (eg
“<30_5” would be coded against a patient who died within 30 days of their
5th jab/3rd booster)
7) ER Visit - a “E” if the patient visited a hospital Emergency Room for
any reason between their last injection and their date of death inclusive.
Otherwise “N”.
8) The count of the number of vaccination injections in each of the
categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query applied
using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) The count of the number of people who subsequently died after the
vaccination month in each of the categories above when the underlying
dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or
similar for this column.
Dataset 3 - Control Group
For anyone in the NHI dataset who is NOT in the COVID Vax Pay per Dose
database but is enrolled with a GP Practice in NZ, please produce the
following dataset.
The following breakdown of each column is required:
1) Date of 1st COVID19 injection in NZ - this will be the same value for
each row
2) Vaccination number - 0 - the same for all rows
4) Age Band of Patient - <19 years old inclusive, 20-39 inclusive, 40-59
inclusive, 60-74 inclusive, 75+ inclusive
5) Death Period - <30 days inclusive, 31 days-90 days inclusive, 91-180
days, 181 days to 365 days, 366 days to 730 days inclusive, 731 to 1095
days inclusive, over 1096 days inclusive. Each of these categories should
be calculated from the date in column (1) of this dataset and a suffix
“_0” appended
8) Size of Control at start - The count of the number of people in each of
the categories above when the underlying dataset has a Group By query
applied using Count(Distinct NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
9) Death count - The count of the number of people who subsequently died
after the date in column (1) in each of the categories above when the
underlying dataset has a Group By query applied using Count(Distinct
NHI_Number) or similar for this column.
For all Datasets please provide a list of codes used and descriptions, and
a description of the file format.
A Reasonable OIA with Precedent
This OIA should be possible by using simple queries on the entire datasets
of COVID Vax Pay per Dose and National Minimum Dataset of Hospital data -
matched using the NHI number. My understanding is the Pay Per Dose dataset
is about 12m records.
This OIA does not ask for the creation of any information, just the
aggregation of a data set the MoH already collects as a normal course of
its business.
This OIA does not seek any personal or commercial information about
patients or suppliers. Where a cell count in column (7) or (8) is less
than 5 please mark as “S”. Where a cell count in column (7) is truely zero
this should not occur in the dataset.
This email is to let you know that Te Whatu Ora needs more time to make a
decision on your request.
The Act requires that we advise you of our decision on your request no
later than 20 working days after the day we received your request.
Unfortunately, it will not be possible to meet that time limit and we are
therefore writing to notify you of an extension of the time to make our
decision, to 20 February 2024.
This extension is required because the consultations necessary to make a
decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably
be made within the original time limit.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [1][email address]
If you are not happy with this extension, 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.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Stacey Wilson
Advisor | Kaitohutohu
Office of the Chief Executive
****************************************************************************
Statement of confidentiality: This e-mail message and any accompanying
attachments may contain information that is IN-CONFIDENCE and subject to
legal privilege.
If you are not the intended recipient, do not read, use, disseminate,
distribute or copy this message or attachments.
If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender
immediately and delete this message.
****************************************************************************
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
hide quoted sections
From: hnzOIA
Tçnâ koe Chris
Thank you for your email of 7 December 2023, asking for the following
information under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
"I notice the referral between your agencies of this OIA request.
It would be unfortunate and cause delays if this referral was
inappropriate and we find out late in the process that (for example)
Health NZ cannot answer or fulfill the query.
This referral also contradicts other information in the public domain that
suggests that database analysts in the MoH can undertake this type of
analysis.
Given your communication is about the OIA I will regard this as you
consulting with me as part of your obligation under the Official
Information Act. As such your reply to my next questions will be prompt
and be with the aim to facilitate your obligations to successfully
conclude this OIA within the statutory timeframes.
My questions are:
1) What is the basis on which this is being transferred because you
believe the information is held or available elsewhere?
2) Please confirm that you have the ability to answer the OIA in the
required statutory timeframe.
3) Please provide proof or detailed reasoning that your answer in (1) and
(2) is the case. For example you might say that while MoH analysts have
access to a database that Health NZ physically hosts the required
databases and the MoH has no copy.
4) Do you have any conflicts of interest that will prevent you answering
my OIA to the best of your ability? For example if you believe your
organisation is unable to answer this OIA because of a known and
recognised public liability, court action or criminal culpability of an
employee …. In which case you would say “yes we have a conflict therefore
we need to refer the query on to an org that can also answer, even though
we have the technical capability to answer”.
I do not need to know the detail here but would be satisfied that it is
clear the reason for the referral and that the alt org can equally answer
(if they also confirm they can answer and have no conflict).
The questions above are to both of your respective organisations. Where
only one of you receive this communication then please forward to the
other party because it is your referral action that has caused the lines
of communication to blur and the beginning of this consultation.
Where it is established that the MiH has the technical capability to
answer this OIA I put it to you that the 20 days starts from the date of
receipt regardless of the referral."
This email is to let you know that Te Whatu Ora needs more time to make a
decision on your request.
The Act requires that we advise you of our decision on your request no
later than 20 working days after the day we received your request.
Unfortunately, it will not be possible to meet that time limit and we are
therefore writing to notify you of an extension of the time to make our
decision, to 20 February 2023.
This extension is required because the consultations necessary to make a
decision on your request are such that a proper response cannot reasonably
be made within the original time limit.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [1][email address]
If you are not happy with this extension, 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.
Nâku iti noa, nâ
Te Whatu Ora Ministerial Services
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From: hnzOIA
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Kia ora Chris,
Thank you for your request for information regarding COVID vaccine
deaths on 06 December 2023. Please find attached our response to your
request.
If you have any questions, please get in touch at
[1][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 [2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi,
Te Whatu Ora Ministerial Team
[3]cid:image001.jpg@01D88F83.F242EE30
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From: Chris Johnston
Dear hnzOIA,
Thank you for your response. Very helpful.
One follow-up - a definition
Could you please define the term Health Service User Population a little more clearly, and relate it to the general population.
For example, does it include people registered with a GP on their roll, anyone who picks up a prescription in the last xxx months, visited an ER or screening program, born in a private hospital but registered with Plunket?
What are the typical groups excluded?
So what is the total as a proportion of the NZ census population figures (eg usually resident)?
I am happy with a link to a website where this term is officially defined and quantified.
Eyes of the World
You may have noticed that the response to this OIA has already been picked up and examined by others as the hive mind of the internet appears to work weekends.
https://x.com/sco0psmcgoo/status/1758247...
Please download the spreadsheet in Google docs as it may be required under the Public Records Act to document what Health NZ knew when about a version of modelled excess deaths, and the original version it was in at that date. Publicly available information on the internet can disappear or be changed and a copy needs to be under your control to document your decisions.
https://x.com/sco0psmcgoo/status/1758247...
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1...
Many other mentions & use of this OIA data will have come up on your monitoring of the social media fire hose.
A bouquet
Please relay my thanks for your efforts in this OIA (especially the database people that put the numbers together) to bring transparency to this issue, that appears to have impacted many, and worried many more.
What to do now?
I trust that the analysis documented in this OIA will be forwarded to your epidemiologists and CEO (who may have a duty of care to notify the MoH, Minister, MedSafe, Pharmac, ACC, and any other relevant authorities who may carry liability - on at least a “no surprises” basis). MBIE who contracted the product that appears to have a Health & Safety issue may also want to notify employers still mandating consumption of this product to consider the personal liability they could face under the H&S Act.
Safety First … right? First do no harm … correct?
I do not expect you to express an opinion on the data or the subsequent analysis. I will however be OIA’ing your communications to help provide visibility to the public of the Kiwi public service working as expected for all New Zealanders. Please get onto it - if only as a precaution.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: hnzOIA
Kia ora Chris
Thank you for your request for information. Please find attached our
response to your request.
If you have any questions, please get in touch at
[1][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 [2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi,
Government Services
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
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From: Chris Johnston
Dear hnzOIA,
This is a follow up to this OIA on PROCESS AND COMMUNICATIONS
1) Please provide all documentation of involvement of an Ethics Committee in relation to any COVID Vaccine safety signal and/or vaccine injuries/death and/or this OIA since 1 Dec 2024. Without limiting by example, an Ethics Committee referral/discussion/finding may have considered issues such as the level of evidence of a safety signal, whether to notify other agencies, and/or the public.
2) Please provide all communications related to, or discussing or as a result of this OIA since this OIA was received by the Ministry of Health to the date it was transferred to Health NZ.
3) Please provide all communications related to, or discussing or as a result of this OIA since this OIA was referred to Health NZ to the date this OIA was responded to on 16 Feb 2024.
4) Please provide all communications related to, or discussing or as a result of this OIA (in whole or in part) since this OIA was responded to on 16 Feb 2024.
5) Where other OIAs have referred to this OIA please provide a simple list and details of each request.
For all items above "Communications" refers to Records within Health NZ, with any Minister, or any other agency - whether electronic or paper based - including minutes/notes by officials. Where any part of an email chain is relevant, then the whole email chain is requested.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: Chris Johnston
Dear hnzOIA,
This is a follow up to this OIA for ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS OF FACT an AUGMENTED DATASET.
The response to the previous OIA with Ticket Reference RT-268 produced some good insights but there are some questions, and an opportunity to make it more useful.
QUESTIONS OF FACT
1) Can you please confirm the total number of COVID vaccination records (doses) that were covered by the dataset? Also break this down by Month and Dose Number.
So Col1 = Month of Dose, Col 2 = Dose Number, Cold 3 = Number Vaccinated. 10 people given dose 3 in Feb 2023 would generate a record like "202302,3,10". The dataset would have a final record that read: "Total, Total, <total number of doses>"
2) Please provide the number of people in the "Health Service User Population" as at the end of each month from from 1 Jan 2019 to 31 Jan 2024 inclusive. Note that this should be consistent with the definition requested in an earlier request in this OIA trail. This term was used by Health NZ in its response so it needs to be quantified as a denominator.
3) Can you please confirm that the deaths in each category do not include the deaths in previous dose categories. For example do the 169 deaths in 2022-11 for 41-60 years olds after 3 doses that are marked "<=365" exclude the <5 deaths in the "<=180" category and the <5 in the "<=90" category in the 4th column. The numbers in the Dose 4 category for the same month seem to confirm that this is the case but we want to confirm (i.e. 8 for "<365" is less than the the 24 Count for "<1=180".
4) There seems to be a discrepancy between the total deaths in this OIA and the stats at this data source:
infoshare.stats.govt.nz
fyi.org.nz/request/25021.
This discrepancy grows in time as shown in a graph on these posts on X:
https://x.com/USMortality/status/1759082...
https://x.com/mongol_fi/status/176025590...
Can Health NZ please confirm that the total death stats are accurate compared to the Infoshare site - especially if you are the source of the information at Stats as well as this OIA?
5) Are the deaths up to 31 Dec 2023 inclusive rather than 1 Dec 2023 as stated in the Summary tab of the OIA spreadsheet response?
AUGMENTED DATASET.
6) Can the following dataset based on Ticket Reference RT-268 please be provided.
Col1: Month of Death - from 1 Jan 2019 to 31 Jan 2024 inclusive
Col2: Age at Death - Redefine to "0 to 30", "31 to 60", "61 to 80", "81+".
Col3: Last COVID-19 dose number - keep as is
Col4: Days between last vaccination and death - leave as is
Col5: Count of Deaths - re-label
Col6: Total of Person-Days -
a) Where Dose = 1 to n: The number of "person-days" to the date of death for the people who died in that month since their last dose. So if only 2 people died in a month for a Dose, age group and timeframe then Col5 would be "<5" but if they dies 60 and 40 days after their last dose then "person-days" would be 100.
b) Where Dose = 0: The number of person-days from 1 Jan 2019 to the date of death.
c) This does not reveal identity but allows %'s to be calculated. Age groups have also been redefined/merged to minimise the occurrence of "<5"'s.
7) For the dataset in (6) please also provide additional rows for Age Group Totals. This is to ensure that we can reconcile and validate the accuracy of the numbers being returned. Therefore we expect rows like:
No Dose Summary: "Total,0 to 30, 0, Total, <Total Count of Deaths>,<Total Person-Days>"
At Least 1 Dose Summary: "Total,0 to 30, 1 to n, Total, <Total Count of Deaths>,<Total Person-Days>"
... and similar for other Age Groups
Thanks for your assistance with this. The Was of Working in the original email of this OIA apply - especially asking for clarification early.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: Chris Johnston
Dear hnzOIA,
This is a note for:
a) people that may look at this OIA on "Death" in future and also be interested in "Injury", and
b) to link the requests for Health NZ.
This message does not require a response from Health NZ in this thread.
An OIA for Injuries that relies on the principles, logic, ways of working and precedent established in this OIA has been made here:
https://fyi.org.nz/request/25882-injury-...
The OIA seeks to establish if there has been an over proportional increase in Events within the NZ Health System as a result of the COVID-19 vaccination programme by Dose.
Yours sincerely,
Chris Johnston
From: hnzOIA
Kia ora Chris,
Thank you for your request for information regarding number of COVID
deaths (follow up) on 18 February 2024. Please find attached our response
to your request.
If you have any questions, please get in touch at
[1][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 [2]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi,
Health New Zealand - Te Whatu Ora Ministerial Team
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora
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From: hnzOIA
Tēnā koe,
Thank you for contacting Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora. This is an automatic
reply to confirm that we have received your email. Depending on the
nature of your request you may not receive a response for up to 20 working
days. We will try to respond to your query as quickly as possible.
Ngā mihi
Health NZ, Te Whatu Ora.
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Athina Andonatou left an annotation ()
Thank you Chris for your tenacity and persistence.
Link to this