Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins is promising no DHB will run out of Covid-19 vaccines after New Zealand’s largest shipment of doses arrived ahead of schedule.
Hipkins said 150,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine touched down in Auckland late yesterday afternoon.
They were taken straight from the tarmac at Auckland Airport to a storage and distribution centre. There, quality checks were carried out. They’re now being delivered to DHBs around the country and vaccination centres, he said.
“With our first July shipment safely on the ground and 1 million doses arriving this month, over the coming weeks we can start to ramp up the number of vaccines being administered,” Hipkins said.
The shipment of 150,000 doses arrived on Sunday afternoon. (Source: Other)
“The early arrival means no DHB will run out of vaccine. Teams have been working tirelessly to ensure vaccine doses have been getting to the right places to honour all existing appointments, and they’ve done a fantastic job.”
The Government announcement this morning comes after questions were raised last month over concerns of the rollout slowing down without a sizable shipment in July.
Last week, Hipkins said New Zealand’s vaccine stock was expected to drop to "almost zero" ahead of yesterday’s shipment.
Jacinda Ardern has pushed back against NZ slumping to 120th in world, saying these types of charts largely measure first doses. (Source: Other)
The country sits last among OECD nations for vaccine doses administered per capita — at 120th in the world.
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