4 May 2026
Alison Goodwin
[FYI request #34392 email]
Tēnā koe Alison
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00202363
Thank you for your email on 6 April 2026, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
following under the Official Information Act 1982 (the OIA):
1. OIA response HNZ00087067 dated 22 May 2025 advised that “Health NZ plans to
process and publish the full results [of the 2024 XBB PVSC survey] at the end of this year.”
The results do not appear to be on the HNZ website which was last updated 15 Jan 2025.
Please provide the final report for the 2024 survey. If it is not yet complete, please provide
draft versions of the report including results from both the day 3 and day 42 surveys.
2. In the 2023 Post Vaccine Symptom Check (PVSC) survey, participants who completed a
follow up survey at Day 42 were asked if they had been diagnosed by a medical
professional with any of the following:
Guil ain-Barré syndrome (GBS)
Bell’s palsy
Neuritis or Neuropathy
Other neurological condition
Seizures
Febrile seizures
Myocarditis
Pericarditis
Other heart issues
Blood vessel issues
Blood and lymphatic system disorders
Immune system disorders
Anaphylaxis
Cellulitis
Diagnosis of other conditions – [please explain] No, I have not been diagnosed with a rare
condition
Please provide the numbers of respondents who indicated they had been diagnosed with
each of these conditions.
Please provide the number of people who were asked this question.
Please provide the number of people who responded to this question.
Response
Work relating to the Post-Vaccine Symptom Check survey (PVSC) was halted and the team that
had ownership of this portfolio of work is no longer operational. This is primarily due to broader
organisational restructuring and resourcing pressures.
Given this, the final report for the 2024 PVSC has not been completed and no draft reports exist,
the information requested in question 1 is therefore refused under section 18(e) of the OIA as it
does not exist.
The results of the 2023 PVSC follow-up survey (day 42) are also unavailable. Any raw data that
may have been collected was not organised, collated, analysed, or quality‑assured before the
cessation of the work. Further, any data, if stil held, sits within a system that is no longer
accessible to Health NZ staff who conducted this work. Responding to question 2 would therefore
require analysis and compilation of information that does not currently exist in the format
requested. The information requested is therefore refused under section 18(g) of the OIA as
information would need to be created in order to provide what has been asked for.
Al available information regarding the 2023 and 2024 PVSC surveys has been published on the
Health NZ website:
www.healthnz.govt.nz/about-us/health-data/data-sets-and-
collections/immunisation-data-and-statistics/post-vaccine-symptom-check-survey-reports.
Responsibility for ensuring the safety of vaccines and other medicines, and for monitoring adverse
events following immunisation (AEFI) sits with Medsafe. For reported suspected adverse reactions
to COVID-19 vaccines, please refer to the Suspected Medicine Adverse Reaction Search
(SMARS). Instructions regarding how to search SMARS are available on their website at
www.medsafe.govt.nz/Projects/B1/HelpSearch.htm. You can also submit a request for information
to Medsafe vi
a [email address].
How to get in touch
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 our website. Al requester data, including your name and
contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Sara Freitag
Manager, Government Services
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
