133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
10 November 2021
Chris Collins
By email:
[FYI request #17050 email]
Tēnā koe Chris
Response to your request for official information
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) and follow up
emails on 5 October 2021 and 4 November 2021 for:
“
I formally request under the Official Information Act 1982 that I receive
a copy of the Pfizer agreement with the New Zealand Government.”
“I acknowledge your reason regarding commercial sensitivity and would like in a Ministry
of Health Letter addressed to me stating this position.”
The Ministry is unable to provide you with a copy of the Pfizer contract due to commercial
sensitivity. Therefore, your request is withheld under the following sections of the Of icial
Information Act 1982 (the Act):
• Section 9(2)(b)(i) as its release would likely unreasonably prejudice the commercial
position of the person who supplied the information.
• Section 9(2)(ba)(i ) to protect information that is subject to an obligation of confidence
and making it available would likely damage the public interest.
Although the Ministry appreciates the high degree of public interest in its vaccination
programme and the Pfizer vaccine, this does not outweigh the need to protect the commercial
sensitivity of the information in the agreement.
There is a large amount of information publicly available about the vaccine, including on
the Medsafe website here:
www.medsafe.govt.nz/COVID-19/medicine-approval-process.asp.
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 phone on 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi
Nick Allan
Manager, OIA Services
Office of the Director-General