6 October 2023
T Lee
[FYI request #23334 email]
Tēnā koe T Lee
Your request for Official information, reference: HNZ00025554 and HNZ00025920
Thank you for your email dated 30 June 2023 under the Of icial Information Act 1982 (the Act) to
Manatū Hauora (the Ministry of Health), that was transferred to Te Whatu Ora on 13 and 27 July
2023 for the following information:
“This request is in relation to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty), including
the original, paediatric and BA.4/5 bivalent vaccine. Please provide:
1) Manufacturer's Certificate of Analysis for all batches of vaccine distributed in
New Zealand.
2) Number of doses received from the manufacturer for each batch (i.e. number
of doses received per manufacturer provided batch identifier).
3) Number of doses administered in New Zealand for each batch (i.e. number of
doses administered per manufacturer provided batch identifier).
4) The allocation of records for each batch to each DHB in New Zealand and
each vaccination centre within that DHB in New Zealand (i.e. an updated
version of records provided as Appendix 1 for OIA request H202200175).”
For clarity, I wil respond to each question in turn.
1) Manufacturer's Certificate of Analysis for all batches of vaccine distributed in
New Zealand.
The sponsor of Comirnaty vaccines is Pfizer New Zealand Limited, who are responsible for
ensuring that all batches distributed to New Zealand comply with their approved specifications. T.
Pfizer, as the sponsor and importer, remains responsible for product quality assurance, and
providing information to Te Whatu Ora to enable product release This includes, for example,
Certificates of Analysis and records of shipping. Te Whatu Ora receives copies of Certificates of
Analysis for all batches distributed in New Zealand.
In order to provide the information you have requested, Te Whatu Ora would need to divert
personnel from their core duties and allocate extra time to complete this task. The diversion of
these resources would impair Te Whatu Ora’s ability to carry out our other core functions. As such,
your request is refused under section 18(f) of the Act, requires substantial collation.
I have considered whether fixing a charge for the supply of the information or extending the
timeframe for response would enable Te Whatu Ora to respond. I do not consider that either option
would remove the impact that supplying the information would have on our other operations.
2) Number of doses received from the manufacturer for each batch (i.e. number
of doses received per manufacturer provided batch identifier).
Please see
Table two in the attached the Excel Spreadsheet, which provides the number of doses
received from the supplier for each batch number.
3) Number of doses administered in New Zealand for each batch (i.e. number of
doses administered per manufacturer provided batch identifier).
We have assessed what would be involved in creating this information and our initial review has
identified that there is significant human error in the data input, which would prevent us from providing
a complete dataset in response your request. To create a partial response would require Te Whatu
Ora to divert personnel from their core duties and allocate extra time to complete this task. The
diversion of these resources would impair Te Whatu Ora’s ability to carry out our other core functions.
As such, your request for this information is declined under 18(e) and 18(f), being that parts of the
information does not exist and to provide the remaining information would require substantial
collation. I have considered whether fixing a charge for the supply of the information or extending
the timeframe for response would enable Te Whatu Ora to respond. I do not consider that either
option would remove the impact that supplying the information would have on our other operations.
4) The allocation of records for each batch to each DHB in New Zealand and
each vaccination centre within that DHB in New Zealand (i.e. an updated
version of records provided as Appendix 1 for OIA request H202200175).
In collating this response, we identified six vaccine batches from 2021 that do not match received
batch numbers in the data provided to you as Appendix 1 for OIA request H202200175.
Please see
Table one in the attached the Excel Spreadsheet, which provides an update to the
table provided in Appendix one of OIA H20220175.
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. Al requester data, including your name
and contact details, wil be removed prior to release.
Nāku iti noa, nā
Rachel Mackay
Acting Director, Prevention
National Public Health Service
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Te Whatu Ora, PO Box 793,
Wel ington 6140, New Zealand
Document Outline
