Info supplied to RNZ on Covid vaccination
Erika Whittome made this Official Information request to Radio New Zealand Limited
The request was successful.
From: Erika Whittome
Dear Radio New Zealand Limited,
In 2021 and 2022 various RNZ shows contained information on Covid 19 vaccinations
I request
1 Copies of correspondence briefs memos emails letters etc from the health agencies such as MoH, NZ Immunization advisory service , health nz that were sent to RNZ containing information about Covid-19 vaccinations to be used for RNZ broadcast or RNZ podcasts.
2 I request this Covid-19 information that was relied on for RNZ productions such as Our Changing World, the Detail etc, etc
3 I also request correspondence between these health agencies and the CEO or other receiver of correspondence at RNZ on Covid 19 vaccination. The time period is for all of 2021 and 2022.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Radio New Zealand Limited
Kia ora Erika,
Please take this email as acknowledgement of your OIA request. Under the
Official Information Act 1982 we have 20 working days to respond.
Ngā mihi,
Bek
OIA Request Team
RNZ, PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand, 6140
[1]www.rnz.co.nz
[2]1FBB1DAC
show quoted sections
From: Andrew Holden
Radio New Zealand Limited
Kia ora Erika,
Thank you for lodging this OIA with RNZ.
Could I clarify which programmes you are interested in, please? It appears
you would like the information that was provided to our podcast team (for
Our Changing World and The Detail).
However, you mention 'RNZ broadcast', which is a very wide area and
encompasses a number of news-related programmes.
I ask because there will be separate producers for each podcast and
programme, and they are likely to have changed since 2022, so it will
require some work to identify the right person and then ask them to check
their email inboxes for this material.
Knowing exactly which programmes you are interested in will make this task
more manageable.
I take it you have also lodged a similar OIA with the likes of MoH and
Health NZ, given that the material was theirs to begin with and they will
have records of what was issued to media organisations like RNZ?
Cheers,
Andrew
==================================
Info sought: In 2021 and 2022 various RNZ shows contained information on
Covid 19 vaccinations
I request
1 Copies of correspondence briefs memos emails letters etc from the health
agencies such as MoH, NZ Immunization advisory service , health nz that
were sent to RNZ containing information about Covid-19 vaccinations to be
used for RNZ broadcast or RNZ podcasts.
2 I request this Covid-19 information that was relied on for RNZ
productions such as Our Changing World, the Detail etc, etc
3 I also request correspondence between these health agencies and the CEO
or other receiver of correspondence at RNZ on Covid 19 vaccination. The
time period is for all of 2021 and 2022.
============================================================
Andrew Holden (he/him)
Complaints Custodian & OIA Officer
RNZ, PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand, 6140
DDI +64 4 474 1424
Mobile: +64 21 568 253
[1]www.rnz.co.nz
I am off on Wednesdays.
Emails sent by Radio New Zealand Limited (RNZ) or any related entity,
including any attachments, may be confidential, protected by copyright
and/or subject to privilege. If you receive an email from RNZ in error,
please inform the sender immediately, delete it from your system and do
not use, copy or disclose any of the information in that email for any
purpose. Emails to/from RNZ may undergo email filtering and virus
scanning, including by third party contractors. However, RNZ does not
guarantee that any email or any attachment is secure, error-free or free
of viruses or other unwanted or unexpected inclusions. The views expressed
in any non-business email are not necessarily the views of RNZ.
www.rnz.co.nz
References
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1. Original URL: http://www.rnz.co.nz/. Click or tap if you trust this link.
http://www.rnz.co.nz/
From: Erika Whittome
Dear Andrew,
I'm after any correspondence for any shows on covid-19 vaccination n that was supplied by the MoH, HNZ etc please.
I'm after all information that that RNZ holds on Covid immunization that was supplied to it. For example RNZ_15Nov_2021_Vaccinating children against Covid-19.mp3 is on your website, and there were definitely plenty of other shows talking about vaccination, such as RNZ news.
Yes, I have lodged a request with MoH and gotten some advertising briefs and some MoH factoids (https://fyi.org.nz/request/31945-factoid...) , but that information is not complete by any means. RNZ will have information as well that was supplied to it by these various health authorities.
If there is quite a lot of information, I'm happy to pick up the files on a USB stick from the RNZ offices
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: Andrew Holden
Radio New Zealand Limited
Thanks for the clarification, Erika, I'll start digging. This material
would generally be held by the reporters and producers involved at the
time, most likely in their email, so it's a case of checking who was
looking at this issue at the time and what material they can find via a
search.
Regards
Andrew
show quoted sections
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and/or subject to privilege. If you receive an email from RNZ in error,
please inform the sender immediately, delete it from your system and do
not use, copy or disclose any of the information in that email for any
purpose. Emails to/from RNZ may undergo email filtering and virus
scanning, including by third party contractors. However, RNZ does not
guarantee that any email or any attachment is secure, error-free or free
of viruses or other unwanted or unexpected inclusions. The views expressed
in any non-business email are not necessarily the views of RNZ.
www.rnz.co.nz
References
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2. http://www.rnz.co.nz/
3. http://www.rnz.co.nz/
4. http://www.rnz.co.nz/
5. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
From: Andrew Holden
Radio New Zealand Limited
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EW141025.pdf
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January June 2021 Redacted.pdf
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Kia ora Erika,
Please find attached a letter and the first document that is relevant to
your request.
A second will follow in a moment, and the letter explains why I am unable
to send you the material for 2022 today.
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew Holden (he/him)
Complaints Custodian & OIA Officer
RNZ, PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand, 6140
DDI +64 4 474 1424
Mobile: +64 21 568 253
[1]www.rnz.co.nz
I am off on Wednesdays.
Emails sent by Radio New Zealand Limited (RNZ) or any related entity,
including any attachments, may be confidential, protected by copyright
and/or subject to privilege. If you receive an email from RNZ in error,
please inform the sender immediately, delete it from your system and do
not use, copy or disclose any of the information in that email for any
purpose. Emails to/from RNZ may undergo email filtering and virus
scanning, including by third party contractors. However, RNZ does not
guarantee that any email or any attachment is secure, error-free or free
of viruses or other unwanted or unexpected inclusions. The views expressed
in any non-business email are not necessarily the views of RNZ.
www.rnz.co.nz
References
Visible links
1. Original URL: http://www.rnz.co.nz/. Click or tap if you trust this link.
http://www.rnz.co.nz/
From: Andrew Holden
Radio New Zealand Limited
And the second half of 2021.
cheers
From: Andrew Holden <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 14 October 2025 6:42 pm
To: [FOI #32329 email]
Subject: OIA request to RNZ
Kia ora Erika,
Please find attached a letter and the first document that is relevant to
your request.
A second will follow in a moment, and the letter explains why I am unable
to send you the material for 2022 today.
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew Holden (he/him)
Complaints Custodian & OIA Officer
RNZ, PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand, 6140
DDI +64 4 474 1424
Mobile: +64 21 568 253
[1]www.rnz.co.nz
I am off on Wednesdays.
Emails sent by Radio New Zealand Limited (RNZ) or any related entity,
including any attachments, may be confidential, protected by copyright
and/or subject to privilege. If you receive an email from RNZ in error,
please inform the sender immediately, delete it from your system and do
not use, copy or disclose any of the information in that email for any
purpose. Emails to/from RNZ may undergo email filtering and virus
scanning, including by third party contractors. However, RNZ does not
guarantee that any email or any attachment is secure, error-free or free
of viruses or other unwanted or unexpected inclusions. The views expressed
in any non-business email are not necessarily the views of RNZ.
www.rnz.co.nz
References
Visible links
1. Original URL: http://www.rnz.co.nz/. Click or tap if you trust this link.
http://www.rnz.co.nz/
From: Andrew Holden
Radio New Zealand Limited
And the final document, all of 2022 at a more manageable 69 pages.
There is no additional information for 2021.
As far as I can tell, that completes your request.
Cheers,
Andrew
From: Andrew Holden <[email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 14 October 2025 6:43 pm
To: [FOI #32329 email]
Subject: RE: OIA request to RNZ
And the second half of 2021.
cheers
From: Andrew Holden <[1][email address]>
Sent: Tuesday, 14 October 2025 6:42 pm
To: [2][FOI #32329 email]
Subject: OIA request to RNZ
Kia ora Erika,
Please find attached a letter and the first document that is relevant to
your request.
A second will follow in a moment, and the letter explains why I am unable
to send you the material for 2022 today.
Regards,
Andrew
Andrew Holden (he/him)
Complaints Custodian & OIA Officer
RNZ, PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand, 6140
DDI +64 4 474 1424
Mobile: +64 21 568 253
[3]www.rnz.co.nz
I am off on Wednesdays.
Emails sent by Radio New Zealand Limited (RNZ) or any related entity,
including any attachments, may be confidential, protected by copyright
and/or subject to privilege. If you receive an email from RNZ in error,
please inform the sender immediately, delete it from your system and do
not use, copy or disclose any of the information in that email for any
purpose. Emails to/from RNZ may undergo email filtering and virus
scanning, including by third party contractors. However, RNZ does not
guarantee that any email or any attachment is secure, error-free or free
of viruses or other unwanted or unexpected inclusions. The views expressed
in any non-business email are not necessarily the views of RNZ.
www.rnz.co.nz
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
2. mailto:[FOI #32329 email]
3. Original URL: http://www.rnz.co.nz/. Click or tap if you trust this link.
http://www.rnz.co.nz/
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Anna left an annotation ()
Wowsers - so in the attached press release from the MOH they stated the following:
"The MAAC supported Medsafe's proposal to grant provisional approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine."
But Medsafe did NOT propose approval. This is what Medsafe wrote in their report:
"Due to the unresolved concerns and additional quality, safety and efficacy data to be provided at the time of completion of the evaluation, Medsafe is unable to recommend that this product be granted consent.
It is therefore recommended that the application be referred to the Medicines Assessment Advisory Committee
(MAAC) under section 22(2) of the Medicines Act 1981 for their consideration."
Medsafe then went on to list a range of issues including:
"severe AEs were reported in 1.2% of the vaccine group"
"The duration of the vaccine protection has not been established beyond two months."
"At this stage, there is limited evidence of protection against severe disease."
"There is no long term safety follow-up information."
"Vaccine prevention of asymptomatic infection and disease transmission has not been established."
Medsafe concluded:
"The benefit risk balance of Comirnaty (COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine) for active immunisation to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 in individuals 16 years of age and older, is not clear. At this stage, there is evidence only for short-term protection, and longer-term safety data are"
When Medsafe refused to rubber stamp the jab, it was bumped to the mysterious MAAC committee.
Yet the media (clearly egged on by the MOH) announced over and over that Medsafe have carried out a rigorous assessment and had concluded that the vaccine was safe and effective.
Link to this