10 November 2020 – Government secures 1.5 million doses of Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine

Type of Intervention: Financial and Economic, Other Announcement, Information on amounts of Vaccine doses available to NZ
Sectors Involved: Health
Level of Jurisdiction: National
Lead People/Agency: NZ Government – COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy Taskforce
Medsafe

Overview: New Zealand has access to 1.5 million doses of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which has received promising results from clinical trials.
Last month the New Zealand Government agreed to buy enough of the Pfizer BioNTech product to vaccinate 750,000 people.
If Medsafe approves the vaccine for use in New Zealand, it is possible that some doses will be available here in the first part of 2021.
The government has set aside $66.3 million for medical supplies and infrastructure to ensure New Zealand is ready to launch a COVID-19 Immunisation Programme as soon as a safe and effective vaccine is available.
Full details here: https://covid19.govt.nz/updates-and-resources/latest-updates/covid-19-vaccine-progress-encouraging/

Type of Justification: Advice of INTERNAL government advisory committee or group, Advice of EXTERNAL expert advisor or advisory committee
Source of Evidence or Justification: National – academic
Evidence/Justification: The COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy Taskforce, led by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, is working with COVAX to access vaccines and negotiating with other pharmaceutical companies.