22 March 2024
Ryan
[FYI request #25358 email]
Tēnā koe Ryan
Your request for official information, reference: HNZ00035566
Thank you for your email on 11 February 2024, asking Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora for the
fol owing under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act):
Please release the latest data showing the breakdown of hospitalisations and death by
vaccine status clearly showing the category 'No Dose'.
On 25 January 2024, you were asked to clarify the information you are seeking under question 4.
In response, you noted:
Thank you for your message in relation to Question 4 - to clarify, please supply data
showing all cause mortality not specific to Covid-19 clearly showing 'No Dose' column.
4A - I note the latest data for Covid-19 associated cases, the 'No Dose' column has been
replaced with 'Not Fully Vaccinated' and as the latter also covers those who were
vaccinated, please also supply in addition, this same information as question 4 but specific
to Covid-19 showing vaccination status with 'No Dose' column which should be considered
an important control group with observable data
Response
Your request for hospitalisation data by COVID-9 vaccination status is refused under section 18(e)
of the Act, as this data does not exist.
Please see Appendix One for a dataset showing all-cause deaths and COVID-19 vaccination
status. We acknowledge that the dataset provided may not meet the exact specifications of your
request.
The following information is related to your request and may be of interest.
Mortality rates, not including cause of death, are publicly available online from Stats NZ. They
publish mortality statistics here: www.stats.govt.nz/tools/stats-infoshare. Select ‘Populations’, and
then ‘Deaths’. For information about cause of death, Te Whatu Ora has a mortality web tool that
presents mortality and demographic data for deaths registered in New Zealand from 1948 to 2020.
The web tool is available at the following link:
www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/our-health-system/data-
and-statistics/mortality-web-tool.
Currently, 2018 is the most recent year for which finalised cause-specific mortality data is
available. Preliminary data is available for 2019 and 2020.
After the close of a calendar year, there is a 12–18 month process to assign cause-of-death codes
to the majority of deaths in that year. Te Whatu Ora’s clinical coding team reviews the death
certificate and health history of the deceased to assign cause of death codes. Approximately 10%
of deaths are referred to the coroner each year to determine cause. Deaths which require a
coronial inquiry can take 2-3 or more years for cause of death to be assigned. We do not make
mortality data available publicly until the majority of deaths have been assigned a cause of death,
so that the data we release is complete and accurate. The Chief Coroner has noted delays in the
time it is taking them to determine cause of death.
You may also be interested in the COVID-19 cases and deaths data published at:
www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/our-health-system/data-and-statistics/covid-19-data/covid-19-case-
demographics/.
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, Health NZ 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
Danielle Coe
Manager (OIA) Government Services
Office of the Chief Executive.
TeWhatuOra.govt.nz
Health NZ, PO Box 793,
Wellington 6140, New Zealand