If one were to accept the statements of National Party leader Judith Collins and her Covid-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop, along with other critics, the Labour government has badly mishandled the Covid-19 vaccine (Pfizer) rollout in New Zealand.
To assess whether this claim is fair cop or not one first has to understand what mishandled actually means. One meaning is to manage or deal with something wrongly or ineffectively; another is to manipulate something roughly or carelessly.
This claim should also be seen in the context of the vaccine manufacturing and supply market and the effectiveness of the elimination of community transmission strategy linked to the value attached to human life. Underpinning all of this is the unprecedented nature of the pandemic which meant that the normal system of vaccination through general practitioner clinics couldn’t be used.
Overwhelmingly criticism of government handling of the vaccine rollout is based on how New Zealand compares with the other 37 countries that make up the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Certainly if this data were the only indicator to draw upon the mishandling criticism would appear to be justified; we are close to rock bottom.
But the OECD immediately cautions about drawing quick conclusions. It warns that that the comparison is per 100 people which excludes multiple doses per person. New Zealand has religiously followed the Pfizer three week period before the second dose but the OECD data doesn’t factor this in for comparative purposes.
Context required
Nevertheless this isn’t a good look if vision is restricted to this comparison. However, context is required. Under the eye-catching heading ‘A rocky road from lab to jab’ the OECD provides an important perspective concerning challenge of rollouts (https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/en/vaccines).
It advises that between “…50% and 75% of the world population will have to be vaccinated before the pandemic has ended. This requires building manufacturing and distribution capacity, making a new vaccine affordable, deciding who should get access first, and planning massive vaccination campaigns. The production, delivery and administration of COVID-19 vaccines poses significant logistical challenges and involves many actors.”
The OECD also makes interesting observations about how long it takes the 33 most advanced economies to recover to pre-pandemic Gross Domestic Product per capita (https://www.oecd.org/economic-outlook/).
Ten countries are expected to achieve this before the end of this year. New Zealand isn’t one of them. But it is part of the next six who are expected to achieve this by the end of the year. Germany is another. The other 17 advanced economies follow next year and beyond including Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and France. Vaccinations are critical to pandemic economic recovery but not the only factor.
Vaccine supply control
Full context also includes vaccine supply which is controlled by the larger international pharmaceutical companies (‘Big Pharma’). Big Pharma is driven by profit maximisation. Prior to the pandemic, vaccine development and manufacture wasn’t a priority investment not because it wasn’t profitable but because it wasn’t profitable enough compared with other return on investment opportunities.
The coronavirus pandemic dramatically changed the pharmaceutical market but profit maximisation continued to dictate implementation priorities. New Zealand does rank very low on the OECD rollout data. But it also ranks very low on economy size with a population of only five million. We were never going to compete with economies the size of the United States, European Union or United Kingdom.
With Big Pharma controlling the market through manufacture, production and distribution a small economy like New Zealand was always going to be a lower investment return and therefore lower priority. Consequently it was an achievement for the Government to have negotiated early purchase agreements, subject to regulatory authorisation, with different vaccine producers before settling on Pfizer (an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered in New York).
The rollout target was based on the known supply dates and quantities determined by Pfizer’s capacity and priorities. New Zealand has negotiated above its weight but with obvious less influence than bigger and less isolated economies. We have met the target determined by the agreement with Pfizer. Further, our supplies are now significantly increasing consistent with this agreement and we are now developing a valuable back-up option with the single-dose Janssen vaccine.
Criticisms
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t legitimate criticisms. While the Government has recognised that vaccine rollout is subject to overseas supply it hasn’t persistently hammered this important message to ensure it is a key part of the public narrative.
District health boards have been frustrated by Ministry of Health interference (including pressuring some to slow down vaccine distribution so the supply wouldn’t runout before the arrival date of the next supply (rather like trying to land a plane on a postage stamp). Unfortunately DHBs have been scapegoated for confusion and glitches which they inherit because they are at the implementation frontline. They have been criticised for communication failings. Some of this appears justified. But DHBs have also been thwarted by sometimes poor (or lack of) communication from the Ministry. They can only communicate what they know.
Canterbury DHB has been criticised because of where it sits below the national vaccination average even though it is on schedule to achieve its time frame previously agreed with the Ministry. Comparing DHB performance based on a national average is misleading because of differences in their populations including density, deprivation and location.
Value of human life
The vaccine rollout should also be assessed in the context of the way in which human life is valued. New Zealand is one of the few countries that adopted an elimination strategy (instead of mitigation) to combat community transmission. Crudely speaking elimination gives greater primacy to the value of human life than the mitigation alternative.
The best indicator of the effectiveness of elimination (compared with mitigation) is provided by a comparison of Covid-19 deaths rates (deaths per one million people) as of 8 July: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/.
The following OECD large economies adopted various forms of mitigation at least for much of 2020. Their death rates per one million were: United Kingdom (1,915.73), United States (1,838.57), France (1,628.25), Germany (1,096.41) and Canada (701.16). Australia’s strategy varied from state to state between elimination and mitigation. Its death rate was 35.88.
So what was New Zealand’s death rate? It was an extraordinary low 5.29 deaths per million. In addition to saving hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives, we have been better placed to learn from vaccine rollouts early and we have learnt much.
Learnings include vaccine safety, Pfizer’s refrigeration requirements being less stringent than previously required, the gap between its first and second doses can still be safe (perhaps safer) when longer than three weeks, vaccine effectiveness against the new more dangerous variants such as Delta, and the efficacy of the Janssen vaccine. GPs are now better placed to reassure apprehensive patients which is critical for achieving herd immunity.
Has rollout been mishandled?
Half a million New Zealanders are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus while more than 760,000 have received at least one dose. Further we are on schedule to fully vaccinate all those who want to be vaccinated by the end of the year.
Given the exceptional circumstances of this unprecedented pandemic, the power of Big Pharma in vaccine manufacture and supply, our small economy, and the success of our elimination strategy including higher value on human life, the Government has handled the vaccine rollout correctly and effectively. Further, it hasn’t manipulated it (give or take a little spin) either roughly or carelessly.
The vaccine rollout has been handled well; not perfectly or without some confusion and uncertainty but well, nevertheless.
Ian Powell was Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, the professional union representing senior doctors and dentists in New Zealand, for over 30 years, until December 2019. He is now a health systems, labour market, and political commentator living in the small river estuary community of Otaihanga (the place by the tide). First published at Otaihanga Second Opinion.
I disagree,I know a number of 70 and 80 year olds that have not received notification for their first jab, and i believe this is not isolated. Might be rolling out ok to the pen pushes but actual delivery on the ground to targeted groups is a shamble , this was confirmed by the staff i asked when i got my 1st jab last week,
The number to ring to book a spot is 0800829768
Why has this not been flashed across the nation , on TV and Papers..??
If there are alternatives, it pays not to wait to be contacted by the DHB. A relative over 65 noticed an advert in her local paper from a medical centre that was offering the vaccine to eligible people. She enquired with them and received her first dose within a week. Since then, more places have become involved in the rollout including pharmacies. Obviously the available options will vary across the country, but if eligible people can find a local provider, they would be better off dealing with them rather than waiting on the DHB.
Thank you Ian for a balanced summing up.
Anyone who expected perfection with a ‘roll-out’ of this magnitude does not live in the real world; sadly it has been a long time since any of the opposition, or their ‘morning radio shock jocks’ lived in the real world experienced by most NZers. Yes, some problems have occurred that in the main highlight our lack of a coordinated national health system; there is nothing like a crisis to highlight weak points in any system – hopefully lessons have been learnt (the disestablishment of the multitude of district health boards being one of them).
Having had my first jab last week at the Henderson Centre I was totally impressed by not only the well oiled process but the cheerfulness of all the staff I encountered. It was obvious that a huge amount of work has been done in establishing these facilities; and the logistics of bringing together the vaccine supply, the qualified staff, buildings, and those to get the jab Nationwide is no small feat. That this has been achieved whilst also controlling the borders, and providing us with life pretty much as normal, can only be viewed as a huge success story.
Thanks Peter although I disagree that DHBs have been the obstacle. I think the more centralised structure intended to replace them would be less responsive and less understanding of local populations.
Given Ian Powell’s professional history, I’d place his expert opinion above any on this blog, oh and Mike Hosking who is a self proclaimed “expert”.
That’s very kind of you Bert despite Mike Hosking being a low bar to jump.
Haha Ian well put.
I was hoping he would be in Sydney by now homesick and worried. Not quite as good across the ditch anymore Mike ?
Well what we.do know is Hosking has no integrity. He already said he’d leave for Australia if Labour was on it’s way out. So given he hasn’t, why would anyone believe anything he espouses.
I don’t think the government has mishandled the vaccine roll out. For a start they chose the most effective vaccine by the sounds of it, other countries have been vaccinated by other vaccines but the vaccines are not working. Rolling out ineffective vaccines is not a good idea.
Our more effective vaccine has more doses so it will take longer and be more complicated. In addition we don’t have community outbreak so can afford to be thorough and not take vaccines from worse off countries who need it first.
Pat my back and I’ll pat yours.
Hipkins said we were first in the world in November we are now last in the OECD
That’s amazing.
Mike Hoskings it would seem is correct.
When we were “first in the queue”, back in November 2020, we had a vaccine strategy based on using multiple vaccine types. At the time we ordered 1.5M doses from Pfizer, enough for 750k people to be fully dosed with the Pfizer vaccine. At that point, no one outside of a clinical trial had received a dose of any of the vaccines NZ had ordered.
Over time, NZ had the “benefit” to assess the relative efficacy and potential side effects of each vaccine we were in the pipeline to receive. The plan then shifted to a Pfizer-only strategy. The government claims this move was made in January this year, but the additional 8.5M doses were secured 4 months ago, back in March. Given what was happening in other parts of the world, we were no longer “first in the queue” and would receive our shipments in the later half of this year.
But, you probably already know this.
Exactly right DX5, can’t argue facts.
Would you and Mike rather be living in one of your ‘successful’ countries?
Hosking is an idiot and wrong. Wake up you good National/Hosking supporter to their/ his hidden agenda. You support idiocy John
Why the hell should we be vaccinated ahead of developing countries who are dying in their thousands and have yet to see any does of Covid vaccine.
Entitled rich pricks like National and ACT bleating about our rollout are insensitive and ignorant.
In case anybody hasn’t noticed we dont have Covid or deaths in the community.
We should not be first in line.
The question is baffling!
I want to live in country where the Government tells tells the truth.
This government tells lies and that cannot be disputed
I’m over Ardern and her manipulative style of dictatorship.
Labour Party no way, more a route to use good labour people to support their secret agenda.
Wake up you good honest labour people and don’t support the secret agenda.
What a naive person you are John and that cannot be disputed.
I’m over you John and your manipulative style of comments.
What’s the matter John? Not enjoying your “Brighter Future”? Good luck trying to find an honest Gov’t, although isn’t it nice to have a little kindness instead of a grumpy old bulldog at the helm.
Taihoa, Hosking, Garner, Williams, Duplessis, and other losers have been providing the expert advice to the Natz/Act coalition and the right-wing media. They’ve promoted Sweden, Australia, Taiwan, USA, Singapore, AustraliaJ again and again – vaccinations just a political beat up as there is nothing else to score points on – wait a few months until vac supply and ramp-up happens and also lets see how Australia, UK and Singapore fare before Aotearoa prepare their plan..
Remember my friends, REJOICE Aotearoa is still the safest and most free country in the world. Covid -19 Delta is still raging around us and the world. Yes we are a lucky country, lucky that Natz and Act did not win the Govt benches and opened up the borders.
Well said Nikorima. I have always equated patience with maturity; sadly maturity is something none of the ‘shock jocks’ you name have. There is many reasons that 10’s of thousands of people want to immigrate here, we need to appreciate those reasons ourselves!
Well said, I suggest John may be living in a parallel N.Z. where Hosking is P.M.
Bert,
As I said a few days ago someone else is using the name John to post comments.
I apparently am unable to do anything about that.
The last comment beginning “The question is baffling.”was not posted by me.
No worries, my response is to that John then, perhaps TDB could respond and edit that John with a second name. Less confusing.
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