24 April 2023
Alan Campbell
[FYI request #22146 email] Tēnā koe Alan
Your request for Official information, reference: HNZ00014195
Thank you for your email on 23 March 2023, asking for the following which has been
considered under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act). You stated:
“I understand that you have introduced codes to identify Long Covid and that you
expect data to be available later in 2023, after experiencing a delay in implementing
them.”
I shall quote and respond to each part of your request below.
1. Can you please advise whether these codes will differentiate between people that
are experiencing Long Covid and HAVE been vaccinated, vs. those that HAVE
NOT been vaccinated?
The codes associated with long COVID are currently no different from whether an individual
was vaccinated or not. However, information regarding an individual's vaccination details
can be linked to their hospitalisation records.
Therefore, Te Whatu Ora could investigate the codes associated with long COVID and
differentiate between people that are experiencing long COVID and have been vaccinated,
compared to those that have not been vaccinated.
2. If this data is not being collected in a way that enables this analysis, can you
please provide meeting notes, memo's emails, documents, presentations etc, that
mention the development or implementation of the codes, AND, vaccination
status.”
The information is being collected in a way that would enable this data analysis. However,
there may be time lags and completeness issues associated with the new long COVID
codes. This data is based on hospitalisation stays, so it will not capture any people with long
COVID who are not hospitalised with long COVID.
How to get in touch
If you have any questions, you can contact us at
[email address]. If you are not happy with this response, you have the right to make a complaint to the
Ombudsman. Information about how to do this is available at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or by phoning 0800 802 602.
As this information may be of interest to other members of the public, Te Whatu Ora may
proactively release a copy of this response on our website. All requester data, including your
name and contact details, will be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Juliet Rumball-Smith
Director
Intelligence
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Te Whatu Ora, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand
