Today: 26 April 2025
17 December 2020
2 mins read

NZ PM promises vaccines for every citizen

This will be New Zealand’s largest immunisation rollout ever…reports Asian Lite News

The New Zealand government will purchase Covid-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax, enough for every New Zealander to be vaccinated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Thursday.

The new agreements secure access to 7.6 million doses from AstraZeneca — enough for 3.8 million people, and 10.72 million doses from Novavax — enough for 5.36 million people, Xinhua news agency reported.

Both vaccines require two doses to be administered, according to a government statement.

The four pre-purchase agreements secured to date are 750,000 courses from Pfizer/BioNTech; five million courses from Janssen; 3.8 million courses from the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca; and 5.36 million courses from Novavax, said the statement.

“Our strategy has been to purchase different types of technology, to ensure if some are found in development or in trials not to be a successful option, we will have alternatives available,” Ardern said.

“We now have agreements in place with four providers, covering three different types of vaccine technology and we have secured more than enough doses to cover our entire population plus the Pacific.”

The AstraZeneca and Novavax vaccines complement the other purchases, and are compatible with existing infrastructure and storage facilities in New Zealand, she added.

“If proven to be safe and effective by New Zealand’s pharmaceuticals regulator Medsafe, they will provide broad population coverage for New Zealand and our Pacific neighbors,” Ardern said.

This will be New Zealand’s largest immunisation rollout ever.

Most countries are factoring the process to take all of 2021 and some of 2022 to complete due to its scale and complexity, also due to production and delivery timeframes, the Prime Minister noted.

“Our first priority will be to vaccinate border workers and essential staff who are at the greatest risk of getting Covid-19. We expect vaccines to be delivered to our front-line workers in the second quarter of 2021,” she said, adding that vaccination of the general public will begin in the second half of the year.

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

The country’s overall coronavirus caseload and death toll stands at 2,100 and 25, respectively.

Also read:New Zealand steps up campaign against Covid-19

Previous Story

UN urges ‘key players’ to cooperate for Syrian peace

Next Story

Australian economy sees signs of recovery

Latest from -Top News

Sikh Community Pays Rich Tributes to Pope 

UAE Sikh community mourns Pope Francis, honoring him as a global symbol of faith and compassion…reports Asian Lite News The Sikh community of the United Arab Emirates extends heartfelt condolences on the

India Praises UAE’s Global AI Benchmark 

Kaustubh Dhavse, Maharashtra CM’s OSD, hailed the UAE’s AI model as a global benchmark driving digital innovation and attracting global talent…reports Asia Lite News Kaustubh Dhavse, Joint Secretary and Officer on Special

Azad Moopen Pays Tribute to Pope Francis 

Dr. Moopen also noted Pope Francis’ historic 2019 visit to the UAE, a landmark moment in fostering interfaith dialogue and tolerance…reports Asian Lite News Dr. Azad Moopen, Founder Chairman of Aster DM
Go toTop