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Summary
- NZ’s COVID-19 inoculation program will start on 20 February due to the early receipt of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
- Border workers would be amongst the first to get vaccinated followed by their household contacts.
- Both NZ and Australia have approved the vaccine. The NZ vaccination programs to have no instant impact on the stalled trans-Tasman travel bubble.
PM Jacinda Ardern announced on Friday that the COVID-19 inoculation program would begin on 20 February. The early commencement of the vaccine program is because of the beforehand arrival of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Ms Ardern has been facing criticism from various critics and opposition that NZ acted slowly in receiving the Pfizer vaccine. They have been creating pressure on Ms Ardern to begin the vaccination programme to benefit from its uncommon position of near elimination of COVID-19.
The Pfizer vaccine was scheduled to arrive in NZ in early March with the government repeatedly reminding that the need for the vaccine in other countries is far greater.
According to the government’s plan, border workers and the people they live with would be the firsts to get the first shot of the vaccine, and the process can take about 2-3 weeks. This would be followed by the security staff, cleaners, and nurses doing health check-ups in managed isolation facilities, getting the vaccine shots. Vaccination for the entire NZ population will start in the second half of the year.
Vaccination to have no immediate impact on the stalled trans-Tasman travel bubble
Both NZ and Australia have officially approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Australia expects to start inoculations by the end of February, but it has not provided any specific date. However, the vaccination programs would have no direct effect on the shelved trans-Tasman travel bubble.
Australia and NZ had hoped to resume bilateral travel by March-end but fresh coronavirus outbreaks in Australia spoilt their plans.
As per Ms Ardern, border controls could be alleviated if there was any evidence that vaccines had lowered transmission, but would remain close until the nation got the protection and safety for 2021. She added that NZ had pre-ordered enough vaccines to immunise all Kiwis at free of cost, and the Pacific as well.
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MedSafe, NZ’s medicine regulator, has been in talks with Novavax, AstraZeneca, and Janssen Biotech for approval of their respective COVID-19 vaccines.
Chris Hipkins has stated that it could take a year to vaccinate the entire NZ population.
Arden has always emphasised on the safety of the vaccine rather than being in the race to get the vaccine. She has repeatedly stated how pandemic had been having a ravaging effect in severely virus-affected regions, so NZ should have rather waited for its turn to get the vaccine.
