Covid19 deaths and flu vaccination
Vonny Marsh made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
The request was partially successful.
From: Vonny Marsh
Dear Ministry of Health,
Please advise, as at time of your response, how many people who died of Covid19 in NZ had received the flu shot in the months/days leading up to the date they passed away.
For the people who did receive the flu vaccination, please provide their age at date of death, and number of days prior to passing that they received the flu shot, and if they were a confirmed (via testing) or a probable covid (please clarify negative tested or not tested at all).
Furthermore, can you please provide clarity around why and how some deaths are described as covid deaths, while tested negative?
As at the date of your response, how many of NZ deaths related to covid:
-tested positive,
-how many tested negative,
-and how many were not tested at all?
Is it protocol to remove any negative tested dead from our NZ covid death stats?
Is it protocol to remove any negative tested patients from the covid stats, or do they stay as probable (due to symptoms) even if tested negative?
Are the negative tested covid deaths reported to World Health Organisation?
Yours faithfully,
Vonny Marsh
Ministry of Health
Kia ora
Thank you for your email dated 15 May 2020 requesting the following
information under the Official Information Act 1982:
"Please advise, as at time of your response, how many people who died of
Covid19 in NZ had received the flu shot in the months/days leading up to
the date they passed away.
For the people who did receive the flu vaccination, please provide their
age at date of death, and number of days prior to passing that they
received the flu shot, and if they were a confirmed (via testing) or a
probable covid (please clarify negative tested or not tested at all).
Furthermore, can you please provide clarity around why and how some deaths
are described as covid deaths, while tested negative?
As at the date of your response, how many of NZ deaths related to covid:
-tested positive,
-how many tested negative,
-and how many were not tested at all?
Is it protocol to remove any negative tested dead from our NZ covid death
stats?
Is it protocol to remove any negative tested patients from the covid
stats, or do they stay as probable (due to symptoms) even if tested
negative?
Are the negative tested covid deaths reported to World Health
Organisation?"
The Ministry's reference number for your request is: H202003444
As required under the Act we will endeavour to respond to your request no
later than 15 June 2020, being 20 working days after the day your request
was received.
If we are unable to respond to your request within this time frame, we
will notify you of an extension of that time frame.
If you have any queries related to this request, please do not hesitate to
get in touch.
Nga mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [email address]
[1]http://www.health.govt.nz
show quoted sections
References
Visible links
1. http://www.health.govt.nz/
Ministry of Health
Kia ora Vonny Marsh
Thank you for your request for official information, received on 15 May
2020 requesting:
Please advise, as at time of your response, how many people who died of
Covid19 in NZ had received the flu shot in the months/days leading up to
the date they passed away.
For the people who did receive the flu vaccination, please provide their
age at date of death, and number of days prior to passing that they
received the flu shot, and if they were a confirmed (via testing) or a
probable covid (please clarify negative tested or not tested at all).
Furthermore, can you please provide clarity around why and how some deaths
are described as covid deaths, while tested negative?
As at the date of your response, how many of NZ deaths related to covid:
-tested positive,
-how many tested negative,
-and how many were not tested at all?
Is it protocol to remove any negative tested dead from our NZ covid death
stats?
Is it protocol to remove any negative tested patients from the covid
stats, or do they stay as probable (due to symptoms) even if tested
negative?
Are the negative tested covid deaths reported to World Health
Organisation?
The Ministry of Health has decided to extend the period of time available
to respond to your request under section 15A of the Official Information
Act 1982 (the Act) as further consultation is required.
You can now expect a response to your request on, or before, 22 June 2020.
You have the right, under section 28 of the Act, to ask the Ombudsman to
review my decision to extend the time available to respond to your
request.
Nga mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [email address]
show quoted sections
Ministry of Health
Kia ora
Please find attached a letter regarding your request for information.
Ngā mihi
Megan King
Advisor | OIAServices
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [1][email address]
L1 North, Yellow, 113 Molesworth St, Wellington
show quoted sections
References
Visible links
1. mailto:[email address]
Paul Roberts left an annotation ()
The definition of the terms used in the Ministries reply are as follows;
- Probable case
* A close contact of a confirmed case that has a high exposure history, meets the clinical criteria and for whom testing cannot be performed, or
* A close contact of a confirmed case that has a high exposure history, meets the clinical criteria, and has a negative PCR result but it has been more than 7 days since symptom onset before their first negative PCR test was taken.
- Confirmed case
A case that has laboratory definitive evidence.
Laboratory definitive evidence requires at least one of the following:
* detection of SARS-CoV-2 from a clinical specimen using a validated NAAT (PCR)
* detection of coronavirus from a clinical specimen using pan-coronavirus NAAT (PCR) and confirmation as SARS-CoV-2 by sequencing
* significant rise in IgG antibody level to SARS-CoV-2 between paired sera (when serological testing becomes available).
- Not a case
* An ‘under investigation’ case who has a negative test and has been assessed as not a case
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Paul Roberts left an annotation ()
When accessing the link provided in the Ministries response below, it returns a permission denied error;
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/...
Google however has cached this document here;
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/s...
Link to this