Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of Covid-19?
Erika Whittome made this Official Information request to Ministry of Health
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Ministry of Health should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
From: Erika Whittome
Dear Ministry of Health,
1. Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of Covid-19? There is no answer for this on Medsafe's page. The data sheet also has nothing about transmission https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
2. This year, Medsafe had published a response to this question on this page until 30th Sep 2021:
https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
"At this stage, we do not know if the vaccine prevents or reduces the transmission of Covid-19".
This response regarding transmission now been redacted from Medsafe's page. Please share the Medsafe meeting minutes prior to 30th Sep 2021 regarding this decision to remove statements on transmission.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erika,
Thank you for your email.
There was no meeting to discuss this. A response regarding this has been
recently published on the Ministry of Health
website: [1]https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/....
Please also refer to the Science new page on the Ministry website for up
to date news and studies regarding
COVID-19: [2]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [email address] or by calling 0800 802
602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[3]Ministry of Health information releases
[4]Unite against COVID-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 2 October 2021 07:28
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent or
reduce transmission of Covid-19?
Dear Ministry of Health,
1. Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of Covid-19?
There is no answer for this on Medsafe's page. The data sheet also has
nothing about transmission
[5]https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
2. This year, Medsafe had published a response to this question on this
page until 30th Sep 2021:
[6]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
"At this stage, we do not know if the vaccine prevents or reduces the
transmission of Covid-19".
This response regarding transmission now been redacted from Medsafe's
page. Please share the Medsafe meeting minutes prior to 30th Sep 2021
regarding this decision to remove statements on transmission.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #17003 email]
Is [Ministry of Health request email] the wrong address for Official Information requests
to Ministry of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[7]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA Requests,
The URL in your response is invalid and has no information: https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
The page says: "Sorry - we can't find what you are looking for."
Given the text has been removed from the data sheet, a person or group made this decision to remove the text, be it in a meeting or email. I can understand if there were no minuted actions from a meeting. Kindly share the written email with the decision and its background for the outcome to remove this text from the Cominarty data sheet.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erica,
Thank you for your follow up email.
The data sheet did not contain information regarding transmission,
therefore no information was deleted. Please refer to the previous
response that was provided to you regarding transmission.
The data sheet can be found
here: [1]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datash...
Apologies that the link is not working for you, please try this
one: [2]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise....
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Monday, 4 October 2021 18:29
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your correspondence of 2 October 2021
Dear OIA Requests,
The URL in your response is invalid and has no information:
[6]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
The page says: "Sorry - we can't find what you are looking for."
Given the text has been removed from the data sheet, a person or group
made this decision to remove the text, be it in a meeting or email. I can
understand if there were no minuted actions from a meeting. Kindly share
the written email with the decision and its background for the outcome to
remove this text from the Cominarty data sheet.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Erika,
Thank you for your email.
There was no meeting to discuss this. A response regarding this has been
recently published on the Ministry of Health
website: [1]https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/....
Please also refer to the Science new page on the Ministry website for up
to date news and studies regarding
COVID-19: [2]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [email address] or by calling 0800 802
602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[3]Ministry of Health information releases
[4]Unite against COVID-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 2 October 2021 07:28
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent
or
reduce transmission of Covid-19?
Dear Ministry of Health,
1. Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of Covid-19?
There is no answer for this on Medsafe's page. The data sheet also has
nothing about transmission
[5]https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
2. This year, Medsafe had published a response to this question on this
page until 30th Sep 2021:
[6]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
"At this stage, we do not know if the vaccine prevents or reduces the
transmission of Covid-19".
This response regarding transmission now been redacted from Medsafe's
page. Please share the Medsafe meeting minutes prior to 30th Sep 2021
regarding this decision to remove statements on transmission.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #17003 email]
Is [Ministry of Health request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests
to Ministry of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[7]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[8]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
please
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References
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[7]https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/...
2.
[8]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
3. [9]https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
4.
[10]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
5. [11]https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
6. [12]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
7.
[13]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
8.
[14]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
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[FOI #17003 email]
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3. mailto:[email address]
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5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
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7. https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/...
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11. https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
12. https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
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15. https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA MoH,
You are not being transparent when you say the page MoH did not contain that information.
Here is the archived page online:
https://web.archive.org/web/202109281006...
I will copy and paste from this archived MoH page:
"Does the vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of COVID-19?
At this stage, we do not know if vaccination prevents or reduces transmission of COVID-19."
You are not being transparent. You are denying this information ever existed on your page.
Kindly answer the questions in my OIA request.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erika.
Thank you for your follow up email. As you have been previously advised,
information regarding the effects of a vaccine on reducing transmission is
not captured in the data sheet. A data sheet contains information relating
to the safe and effective use of a medicine/vaccine, it does not contain
any information on disease transmission or epidemiology. As such, it is
important to address that the wording of your request “Given the text has
been removed from the data sheet” is incorrect and may cause
misinformation.
To further clarify, the information you refer to have been omitted was
from the Medsafe webpage for COVID-19 Therapeutic Products – Questions and
Answers. The Ministry of Health decided to exclude information relating to
the vaccine’s effect on transmission as we constantly review and update
our advice to reflect the latest evidence and science on the best ways to
fight COVID-19. As the Ministry has previously noted, while infections
with the Delta variant in vaccinated persons potentially have reduced
transmissibility than infections in unvaccinated persons, additional
studies are still needed.
Our primary focus is ensuring that reliable information about the vaccine
is easily available to the New Zealand public, and that our communications
help address any information gaps. Vaccines are a critical aspect of the
package of measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19. We do not yet know the
extent to which the vaccines prevent Covid-19 transmission in a given
individual. However, vaccination is expected to reduce overall infection
rate and the incidence of symptomatic disease, and therefore the risk of
onward transmission within our communities.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngâ mihi
OIA Services Team
[2]Ministry of Health information releases
[3]Unite against COVID-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 5 October 2021 17:05
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your correspondence of 2 October 2021
Dear OIA MoH,
You are not being transparent when you say the page MoH did not contain
that information.
Here is the archived page online:
[4]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
I will copy and paste from this archived MoH page:
"Does the vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of COVID-19?
At this stage, we do not know if vaccination prevents or reduces
transmission of COVID-19."
You are not being transparent. You are denying this information ever
existed on your page.
Kindly answer the questions in my OIA request.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Erica,
Thank you for your follow up email.
The data sheet did not contain information regarding transmission,
therefore no information was deleted. Please refer to the previous
response that was provided to you regarding transmission.
The data sheet can be found
here: [1]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/profs/Datash...
Apologies that the link is not working for you, please try this
one: [2]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise....
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [3][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngâ mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Saturday, 2 October 2021 07:28
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Official Information request - Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent
or
reduce transmission of Covid-19?
Dear Ministry of Health,
1. Does the Pfizer vaccine prevent or reduce transmission of Covid-19?
There is no answer for this on Medsafe's page. The data sheet also has
nothing about transmission
[5]https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
2. This year, Medsafe had published a response to this question on this
page until 30th Sep 2021:
[6]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
"At this stage, we do not know if the vaccine prevents or reduces the
transmission of Covid-19".
This response regarding transmission now been redacted from Medsafe's
page. Please share the Medsafe meeting minutes prior to 30th Sep 2021
regarding this decision to remove statements on transmission.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[FOI #17003 email]
Is [Ministry of Health request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests
to Ministry of Health? If so, please contact us using this form:
[7]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published
on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[8]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer,
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5. [11]https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
6. [12]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
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[13]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
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9. [13]https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
10.
[14]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
11. [15]https://medsafe.govt.nz/Profs/datasheet/...
12. [16]https://www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/q-a...
13.
[17]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
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[18]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA Requests,
Your "questions and answers" page for the vaccine had a statement about transmission in my updates above. Kindly share the decision and minutes to remove this statement about virus transmission from the page. To avoid misinformation, the data sheet and the questions and answers should not have confusing or contradictory information.
I am concerned there is no clinical evidence to back up the following statement in your last response. You use the word "expected" in your statement about transmission:
"...vaccination is expected to reduce overall infection rate and the incidence of symptomatic disease, and therefore the risk of onward transmission within our communities."
"Expect"-ing something aligns with a dogma, and not science. Science uses the scientific method. Where are the trials with the delta variant to back up this statement please?
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erika,
Please find attached a response to your official information act request
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [1][email address]
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victor left an annotation ()
"The decision to remove this statement the website was verbal"
No record of decision to remove the text from publication on an official portal.
This is the opposite of industry practise and standards except in banana republics.
How much of everything are these agencies hiding.
From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA Requests,
A verbal decision to remove a vital piece of information about the transmission is not part of an accountable and transparent government process .
The Lancet have published a study on transmission:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanin...(21)00648-4/fulltext
This study was covered by Bloomberg https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/... .
“People inoculated against Covid-19 are just as likely to spread the delta variant of the virus to contacts in their household as those who haven’t had shots, according to new research.”
“In a yearlong study of 621 people in the U.K. with mild Covid-19, scientists found that their peak viral load was similar regardless of vaccination status, according to a paper published Thursday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases medical journal. “
Kindly share the decision and the minutes for this decision to remove the transmission statement under the OIA.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora,
Thank you for your Official Information Act (the Act) request. This is
an automatic reply to let you know we received it.
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information. We
will endeavour to acknowledge your request as soon as possible. Further
information about COVID-19 can be found on our
website: [1]https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/dise...
In accordance with the Act, we'll let you know our decision within no more
than 20 working days. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can
use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [2]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
If you have any questions while we're processing your request, please let
us know via [3][email address]
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[4]Ministry of Health information releases
[5]Unite against COVID-19
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5. https://covid19.govt.nz/
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Chuck Schooner (Account suspended) left an annotation ()
Hi Erika,
The Mayor of LA just tested positive for Covid-19 and he has had three vaccinations. He is now self isolating at home but when he recovers it is unclear if he will need a fourth vaccination. Given his three jabs to date he will likely be able to go to a restaurant and show his papers to do so whilst simultaneously eradicating the disease in his district with this effective vaccine.
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erika,
Thank you for your follow up email.
As you have been advised previously, there was no meeting nor are there
any minutes relating to this decision. Please note any further requests
for the same information may be construed as vexatious and result in such
requests being refused under section 18(h) of the Act.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
Nick Allan
Manager, OIA Services
Office of the Director-General
[2]Ministry of Health information releases
[3]Unite against COVID-19
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Friday, 5 November 2021 07:08
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your official information act request
(ref.H202113904)
Dear OIA Requests,
A verbal decision to remove a vital piece of information about the
transmission is not part of an accountable and transparent government
process .
The Lancet have published a study on transmission:
[4]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
This study was covered by Bloomberg
[5]https://scanmail.trustwave.com/?c=15517&...
.
“People inoculated against Covid-19 are just as likely to spread the delta
variant of the virus to contacts in their household as those who haven’t
had shots, according to new research.”
“In a yearlong study of 621 people in the U.K. with mild Covid-19,
scientists found that their peak viral load was similar regardless of
vaccination status, according to a paper published Thursday in The Lancet
Infectious Diseases medical journal. “
Kindly share the decision and the minutes for this decision to remove the
transmission statement under the OIA.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Erika,
Please find attached a response to your official information act request
Ngā mihi
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
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Ms Thorn left an annotation ()
I find it note worthy that hardly any of the links that have been provided are working. The ones that are only give general information.
From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA Requests,
Repeating my request is not vexatious. I am asking you to answer the question.
A process of some sort has been followed by the ministry. A decision was made to remove a statement about transmission from the website. You may claim there were no meeting minutes, however there was an outcome: a request or job was created to update the ministry’s website . A “webmaster” of sorts would have received a request to update the text on the webpage and remove the transmission statement.
Given you say there were no minutes, from whom did this website update request originate? Ie there has been a specific request to update the web page to remove the statement on transmission. Who lodged this request?
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora
Thank you for your email. The Ministry of Health is closed from Thursday
23 December 2021—Monday 10 January 2022. We will respond to your email
when the Ministry reopens. Thank you for your patience.
OIA requests
Please note that under the Official information Act 1982, the days from 25
December 2021 to Saturday 15 January 2022 (inclusive), are not ‘working
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visit the OIA calculator at: [1]ombudsman.parliament.nz/
COVID-19 information
· for information on the Government’s response to the COVID-19
pandemic, please go to [2]covid19.govt.nz
· for information about COVID-19 locations of interest:
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· for information on COVID-19 testing sites:
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· for information on managed isolation, including exemptions from
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Ngā mihi
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Chuck Schooner (Account suspended) left an annotation ()
The Pfizer “booster” shot is not a “booster”. It’s a shot of something that has already failed twice whilst also having deadly consequences for over 100 people including children. The Director General of Health should have some integrity and move on.
victor left an annotation ()
Chuck, the previous DGoH was moved on under a cloud of conflicts and appearance of corrupted activity, which leads to the ministry having long standing well documented history of 'negligent' activity.
AB is the most recent edition and is an appropriately conflicted figure atop of the terminally declining ministry.
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erika,
Thank you for your follow up email.
The decision to remove the statement can be attributed to the
Ministry/Medsafe as a whole. As noted in our previous response, Medsafe
considered the public could be confused by the messages, as such, it was
decided to omit that sentence from the website as it was not conducive to
keeping the public informed regarding the latest research about vaccines
reducing transmission.
The Ministry has nothing further to add and considers this matter closed.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[2]Ministry of Health information releases
[3]Unite against COVID-19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Friday, 31 December 2021 15:15
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Response to your official information act request
(ref.H202113904)
Dear OIA Requests,
Repeating my request is not vexatious. I am asking you to answer the
question.
A process of some sort has been followed by the ministry. A decision was
made to remove a statement about transmission from the website. You may
claim there were no meeting minutes, however there was an outcome: a
request or job was created to update the ministry’s website . A
“webmaster” of sorts would have received a request to update the text on
the webpage and remove the transmission statement.
Given you say there were no minutes, from whom did this website update
request originate? Ie there has been a specific request to update the web
page to remove the statement on transmission. Who lodged this request?
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Erika,
Thank you for your follow up email.
As you have been advised previously, there was no meeting nor are there
any minutes relating to this decision. Please note any further requests
for the same information may be construed as vexatious and result in such
requests being refused under section 18(h) of the Act.
Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602.
Ngā mihi
Nick Allan
Manager, OIA Services
Office of the Director-General
[2]Ministry of Health information releases
[3]Unite against COVID-19
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ASE left an annotation ()
This certainly warrants a formal complaint to the Ombudsman. They're making it up as they go, giving conflicting advice (eg "dangerous disinformation") with no basis of evidence, and not keeping proper records.
At best, this is gross incompetence. At worst, it's fraud, corruption, and/or conspiracy.
From: Erika Whittome
Dear OIA Requests,
Case was lodged with the Ombudsman 12 Jan 2022.....the Judicial High Court be an option too.
Yours sincerely,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Thank you for your Official Information Act request. This is
an automatic reply to let you know we received it.
In accordance with the Act, we'll let you know our decision within no more
than 20 working days. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can
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here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
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means we may take some time in responding to your request. The Ministry
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[2]https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
Please also refer to the Unite Against Covid-19 website for copies of
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Sometimes we may need to clarify aspects of a request. You can expect to
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From: Erika Whittome
Dear Ministry of Health,
Would you please direct these questions on this OIA to Dr Ashely Bloomfield.
I have been advised by the Ombudsman to do so.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
From: OIA Requests
Kia ora Erika,
As you have been advised, the decision to remove the statement can be
attributed to the Ministry/Medsafe as a whole. As noted in our previous
response, Medsafe considered the public could be confused by the messages,
as such, it was decided to omit that sentence from the website as it was
not conducive to keeping the public informed regarding the latest research
about vaccines reducing transmission.
The Ministry and Medsafe have nothing further to add.
You have the right, under section 23 of the Act to ask the Ombudsman to
review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be
contacted by email at: [1][email address] or by calling 0800
802 602
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
[2]Ministry of Health information releases
[3]Unite against COVID-19
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Erika Whittome <[FOI #17003 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, 15 March 2022 06:46
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Subject: Re: Official Information request - Does the Pfizer vaccine
prevent or reduce transmission of Covid-19?
Dear Ministry of Health,
Would you please direct these questions on this OIA to Dr Ashely
Bloomfield.
I have been advised by the Ombudsman to do so.
Yours faithfully,
Erika Whittome
-----Original Message-----
Thank you for your Official Information Act request. This is
an automatic reply to let you know we received it.
In accordance with the Act, we'll let you know our decision within no
more
than 20 working days. If you'd like to calculate the timeframe, you can
use the Ombudsman's online calculator
here: [1]http://www.ombudsman.parliament.nz/
Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic response, the Ministry is
experiencing
significantly higher volumes of queries and requests for information.
This
means we may take some time in responding to your request. The Ministry
regularly updates information about the COVID-19 situation and publishes
OIA responses considered to be of public interest:
[2]https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministr...
Please also refer to the Unite Against Covid-19 website for copies of
papers, minutes, and key advice for the decisions the Government has made
relating to COVID-19.
Sometimes we may need to clarify aspects of a request. You can expect to
hear from us soon if that is the case here.
Ngā mihi,
OIA Services
Government Services
Office of the Director-General
Ministry of Health
E: [3][email address]
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R Bailey left an annotation ()
Who decided the decision was attributed to "MedSafe as a whole"? Medsafe? 🤣
This seems like no one is responsible...
D J Blair left an annotation ()
This circumvention, hinderence dance gets so old. It's like asking a 3 year old if they have any information on who took the lollipop from the jar. I could be wrong but I don't believe the ministry has commissioned or executed any research in this area. The CDC has admitted it doesn't protect from transmission. Transmission wasn't even part of the pfizer trial studies. The vaccine wasn't designed with transmission in mind. All this information is available from papers in public domain, I could list them here now but we should give the ministry the opportunity. I don't know why it's such an issue. Of course it's interesting because their answer could expose incompetence or dishonesty. They have been making the erroneous 'safe & effective' statement for over a year. This recent study even shows the booster offers little protection from infection: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE...
Virginia Crawford left an annotation ()
Clearly the sentence in question was removed so that the public would not realise the shortcomings of the vaccine.
The message has always been "it is safe and effective"
Clearly it is neither.
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Mr Rodgers left an annotation ()
"Expect"-ing something aligns with a dogma, and not science"
Quite the opposite. If I hold something in my hand and let it go, I "expect" it to fall to the ground under the influence of gravity. That is a scientific viewpoint.
If I were to say that if I release an object in my hand, that "will" fall to the floor is dogma.
Link to this