133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
14 February 2023
Lisa
By email: [FYI request #20256 email]
Ref:
H2023019298
Tēnā koe Lisa
Response to your request for official information Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to Manatū Hauora
(the Ministry of Health) on 14 January 2023 for information regarding long COVID. You
requested:
“All data held regarding Long COVID in New Zealand.”
As you were advised on 14 September 2022 (H2022010466 refers), Manatū Hauora does not
hold the information regarding long COVID to the level of specificity you have requested.
Clinical codes for long COVID are now available across primary and secondary care in
Aotearoa New Zealand. Manatū Hauora expects to begin reporting on long COVID conditions
later in 2023, once there is regular use of the code allowing this information to be tracked.
Therefore, your request is refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, as the information
requested is not held by the Ministry and there are no grounds for believing it is held by another
agency subject to the Act. You may wish to make a new request for this information at the end
of the year.
You may be interested to know that Manatū Hauora has made a range of information related to
long COVID publicly available. This includes resources for health providers to support and
manage long COVID symptoms and research that informs the ongoing response to long COVID
in Aotearoa New Zealand. This information is available at the following links:
•
www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-response-planning/long-covid-
programme
•
covid19.health.nz/advice/i-have-covid-19/long-covid
•
www.health.govt.nz/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-response-planning/covid-19-
science-news#long-covid
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.
Nāku noa, nā
Louise Karageorge
Group Manager, Intelligence, Surveillance and Knowledge
Public Health Agency | Te Pou Hauora Tūmatanui