Covid-19: How Vaccine Deployment Works

explainer: Many COVID-19 Vaccines are already distributed worldwide, but New Zealand is working on its own timeline.

The government has signed several agreements with pharmaceutical companies to secure vaccines for millions of people. All have not yet been approved by Medsafe.

The vaccination program is still being developed by the Ministry of Health. It ensures that the vaccine will be available to people at the right time.

Here’s what we know so far about how vaccine deployment works in New Zealand:

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How many vaccines do you have?

The government has pre-purchase agreements with several pharmaceutical companies.

Pfizer and BioNTech We will supply 1.5 million vaccines to New Zealand. This amount of double dose vaccine is sufficient to inoculate 750,000 people.

there will be 5m dose of Janssen Pharma vaccine Available if approved. This vaccine may be given in a single dose.

The contract with Novavax was signed in December and purchased 10.72 million doses of vaccine. Another two-dose vaccine, which is sufficient for 5.36 million people. The vaccine is unlikely to land in New Zealand until later this year.

Finally, AstraZeneca vaccine It’s also in New Zealand’s line of potential remedies. In addition, the government, which is a double-dose vaccine, purchased 7.6 million vaccines for 3.8 million people.

The government has allocated $ 66 million to establish the necessary infrastructure and purchase the right equipment to support the deployment of vaccines.

Are they all approved?

There is no guarantee that all vaccines secured by the pre-purchase agreement will be approved by Medsafe. Also, there is no timeline as to when accurate approval will be granted.

Regulators are working with other government agencies to streamline the approval process, depending on the data provided by the pharmaceutical company and whether it meets internationally agreed safety and efficacy standards. Varies.

Many of New Zealand’s vaccines have already been approved and are used in a variety of markets, including Medsafe monitors. For example, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. This can speed up the approval process in New Zealand.

Dr. Nikki Turner, director of the University of Auckland’s Immunology Advisory Center, said urgent approval of the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines in many markets is promising. Two other vaccines secured by New Zealand are producing positive clinical data.

However, it remains possible that government-purchased vaccines will not be approved and distributed.

“Safety has always been our priority. We are all ready to act quickly, but we never rush to jeopardize safety,” said the Ministry of Health website.

“We are moving as fast as we can, but we also want to ensure that the vaccine is safe for New Zealanders,” said Jacinda Ardern earlier.

Why are we so late to other countries?

New Zealand is in an ideal situation, unlike the United Kingdom and the United States, where community propagation is intensifying. There is no need to rush the vaccination process as no community infections are detected.

The UK has decided to change Pfizer and BioNTech vaccinations by administering all available doses to high-priority groups, rather than securing half of the inventory for the second dose. Decided.

Turner considered this a very good decision given the situation in Britain. “They suffer from a huge amount of illness and single doses have been shown to be effective. [It’s a] It is a wise decision to vaccinate as many people as possible. “

New Zealand is not in that position, but if so, she said it might be a consideration to use all doses to vaccinate the masses.

Delayed deployment of vaccine Give New Zealand BenefitsAccording to Professor Michael Baker, a public health expert.

“If you need to adjust your Pfizer vaccine [for example] … you can benefit from it thanks to the timing.

“You can find out if there are any rare and previously undetected adverse effects. Our regulators have more data and can make a very careful assessment of all vaccine candidates. I can do it.”

Are they all used in New Zealand?

No, government-funded vaccines will be used throughout New Zealand and the Pacific if approved. If all the vaccines purchased were approved by Medsafe, that would be sufficient for 14.91 million people.

Vaccines will be provided to the Cook Islands, Niue, Tokelau, Samoa, Tonga and Tuvalu, in addition to the 5 million people in New Zealand.

This will be the largest immunization deployment in New Zealand’s history. By comparison, a total of 1.78 million influenza vaccines were distributed in 2020.

Who will be vaccinated first?

Border workers and key staff at the highest risk of getting the virus are prioritized.

The Ministry of Health expects the vaccine to reach these frontline workers in the second quarter of this year.

Public vaccination will begin later this year. Again, this relies on Medsafe’s approval of vaccines that the government has signed a pre-purchase agreement.

A provincial spokesperson said the approach to vaccination would consider a variety of potential scenarios if Covid-19 remains at the border, is in the community, or is excluded. For example, the characteristics of a particular vaccine, such as a particular storage facility, are also taken into account.

“We work closely with DHB, the primary health care network, etc. to see what potential vaccine deployments look like and what this means for each part of the healthcare system, what role they play. “The spokesman said,” about the support needed.

Ministry of Health Covid-19 Sequence Framework This indicates vaccination priorities for different scenarios – low or no community infections, clustered and controlled outbreaks, and widespread community infections.

Each scenario prioritizes slightly different groups, but health care workers, border workers, and the most vulnerable people remain at the top of the list.You can see the breakdown of the complete scenario here..

Turner believes that the vaccination program is likely to continue until 2022.

Is it required?

No, vaccines are not mandatory in New Zealand.

How much will it cost?

The government has confirmed that the Covid-19 vaccine is available free of charge to anyone who is approved.

Who administers the vaccine?

The Ministry of Health plans an additional 2000 to 3000 full-time vaccinated people to administer the vaccine nationwide.

These people will be trained and made available wherever there is demand across the country.

The ministry expects this workforce to grow as the year progresses in line with the vaccine delivery schedule.

Where is the vaccine given?

Vaccine availability is still under consideration, according to Turner, and needs to be planned at the local district health committee level.

Ideally, a mixed model should be provided when vaccination moves to a wider community. This could mean that jabs are administered at community-based evaluation clinics (CBACs), GPs, and pharmacies.

“You will need a clinic that people can easily access.

“In essence, simply expanding the area where vaccines can be delivered will be the easiest way to do that,” Turner said.

The number of places to provide vaccine depends on the amount of vaccine available.

Will vaccinations be recorded?

The Ministry of Health is creating an alternative to national vaccination registration. The National Immunization Solution (NIS) allows healthcare professionals to record all vaccinations.

After that, people will have online access to their vaccination records.

The first release of the system will coincide with the deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine.