Progress on New Zealand’s Covid-19 vaccine strategy
The Government has allocated significant extra funding, in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars, to access a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available. The specifics of the funding from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund cannot be disclosed due to commercial sensitivity as it could prevent the best possible deal for New Zealanders. It is in addition to the $37 million vaccine strategy released in May to support domestic and international work.
“I’ve been talking to a range of world leaders about global vaccine development, including Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau and Scott Morrison. We are working particularly closely with Australia to ensure we are connected to all parts of vaccine development, distribution and use, as well as our Pacific neighbours to elevate their voices. As the World Health Organisation says, vaccine nationalism only helps the virus. Collaboration is our strength and when we find a vaccine, it must be available to everyone,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.
Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods said the funding would enable the Government to secure access to promising vaccine candidates, alongside joining initiatives such as the global COVAX Facility, adding, “Governments around the world are using purchasing arrangements to secure supply, and this will be a key mechanism for helping New Zealand to gain access to Covid-19 vaccines.”
Notably, COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and WHO. Its aim is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines, and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
“Since day dot of this global pandemic, the Government has gone hard and early in our plan to eliminate the virus and work in as many ways as possible to secure a vaccine as soon as it’s available,” the PM added.
- TIN Bureau
Developments in New Zealand’s Vaccine Strategy till now (since May when it was announced)
New Zealand has joined CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) Investors’ Council with an initial investment of $15 million towards global research efforts.
Locally, the Government is investing in Covid-19 vaccine research and manufacturing capability.
Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand – Ohu Kaupare Huaketo will receive $10 million to lead Covid-19 vaccine research to establish a vaccine development and evaluation platform. This platform will support the development of potential domestic and international Covid-19 vaccines by evaluating the safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates.
We are also investing in local manufacturing, which may provide us with the ability to contribute to global supply. Biocell will receive $3 million to upgrade existing facilities so that it has the necessary scale to support global vaccine supply. This also provides the potential for New Zealand to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines locally.
The investments in CEPI, Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand – Ohu Kaupare Huaketo and Biocell are part of the initial $37 million allocation which was announced in May for the national Covid-19 Vaccine Strategy.
Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa – Ohu Kaupare Huaketo New Zealand is a partnership between the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington which brings together a multidisciplinary team of local and international collaborators with proven capability in vaccine research, development, and scale-up manufacturing.
The funding is from the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund (set aside in July) is not part of the $14 billion.