133 Molesworth Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T+64 4 496 2000
15 December 2022
Chris McCashin
By email: [FYI request #20470 email]
Ref: H2022017041
Tēnā koe Chris
Partial transfer of your request for official information
Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), which was
transferred from Te Whatu Ora - Heath New Zealand (Te Whatu Ora) to Manatū Hauora (the
Ministry of Health) on 16 November 2022.
Some parts of your request are more closely aligned with the functions of the districts (formerly
district health boards), which are now managed by Te Whatu Ora. Specifically:
A follow up on this - given this treatment is a new novel technology and there are so
many dead within 21 days I would have thought all of these deaths would HAVE to be
referred to the Coroner?
It is unbelievable if they haven’t. One case of Covid-19 shuts down the country, 177
deaths including children and nobody bats an eyelid at MOH.
I wil try to rephrase of the 177 deaths
How many were of these occurred where the
- Report was not validated due to address not being verified, no NHI number or failed
follow up with reporter per the flow diagram provided under another OIA request
- GP of the deceased was attempted to be contacted (2 x minimum) - not contacted so
therefore went to the ISMB for input and the case was closed per the flow diagram
- Signed off by a GP or Health Practitioner and closed or classed as “unexpected or
unexplained
..
- And also - how are the observed deaths picked up?
...
“ Please provide associated process documents eg
- Person vaccinated
- MOH follows up to see if person is feeling okay within monitoring period
- MOH doesn’t hear back then what happens
- MOH contact GP / family?
- MOH finds out someone has died?
- GP / friends and family did not know the person was vaccinated in last 21 days so no
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report is filed and it’s assumed natural causes
- Do MoH notify friends / next of kin that the person was vaccinated and they report it to
GP / Coroner
- Or do MOH not disclose and the death is added to observed in monitoring period
Please provide all steps taken and what is done to pick up observed deaths and the
process following.”
For this reason, I have decided to partially transfer these parts of your request to Te Whatu Ora
under section 14(b)(i) of the Act. Please accept our apologies for the delay in transferring your
request.
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, na
Jan Torres
Acting Manager, OIA Services
Government and Executive Services l Te Pou Whakatere Kāwanatanga
Page 2 of 4
COPY OF OIA REQUEST
From: [FYI request #20470 email]
To: OIA Requests <[email address]>
Original Subject Line: Re: Response to your official information request, ref: H2022011903
Email Body:
Dear OIA Requests,
A follow up on this - given this treatment is a new novel technology and there are so many dead
within 21 days I would have thought all of these deaths would HAVE to be referred to the
Coroner?
It is unbelievable if they haven’t. One case of Covid-19 shuts down the country, 177 deaths
including children and nobody bats an eyelid at MOH. I wil try to rephrase
Of the 177 deaths
How many were of these occurred where the
- Report was not validated due to address not being verified, no NHI number or failed follow up
with reporter per the flow diagram provided under another OIA request
- GP of the deceased was attempted to be contacted (2 x minimum) - not contacted so therefore
went to the ISMB for input and the case was closed per the flow diagram
- Signed off by a GP or Health Practitioner and closed or classed as “unexpected or
unexplained”
Can you also clarify the following
- What is the criteria for a person to be classed as vaccinated? For example there are in excess
of 3,000 deaths within the ‘Observed’ category during the monitoring period. If for example
somebody dies within 7 days are these immediately discounted
as being from the vaccine due to the person not being defined as vaccinated or are all reports of
death after vaccine considered if someone reports?
- And also - how are the observed deaths picked up?
Please provide associated process documents eg
- Person vaccinated
- MOH follows up to see if person is feeling okay within monitoring period
- MOH doesn’t hear back then what happens
- MOH contact GP / family?
- MOH finds out someone has died?
- GP / friends and family did not know the person was vaccinated in last 21 days so no report is
filed and it’s assumed natural causes
- Do MoH notify friends / next of kin that the person was vaccinated and they report it to GP /
Coroner
- Or do MOH not disclose and the death is added to observed in monitoring period
Page 3 of 4
Please provide all steps taken and what is done to pick up observed deaths and the process
following.
Yours sincerely,
Chris McCashin
-----Original Message-----
Kia ora Chris,
Please find at ached a response to your request for information.
Ngā mihi
OIA Services Team
Manatū Hauora | Ministry of Health
Page 4 of 4
