COVID-19 vaccines
Pharmac is now responsible for the management of COVID-19 vaccines. This includes funding, procurement, and supply.
COVID-19 vaccine access criteria
COVID-19 vaccines remain free and available to eligible people aged 6 months and over. You can find the criteria for first and additional doses of the vaccine on the Pharmaceutical Schedule. There will be public consultation before any change to these criteria.
Community Schedule: COVID-19 vaccines(external link)
Hospital Schedule: COVID-19 vaccines(external link)
Pharmac's role
Management of COVID-19 vaccines transferred to Pharmac from Ministry of Health (Manatū Hauora) from 1 July 2023. Pharmac's budget has been adjusted to cover the COVID-19 vaccines. These were funded separately before.
Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora remains responsible for the vaccination programme.
How many people have been vaccinated?
More than 13 million doses have been administered. For the latest information on how many people have been vaccinated:
Medsafe is the regulator
Medsafe makes sure medicines meet international and local standards for quality, safety, and efficacy. This includes the COVID-19 vaccine. Only if medicines meet these standards will Medsafe recommend them for use in New Zealand.
Medsafe also collects information on the safety of medicines used in New Zealand, including vaccines.
Medsafe – COVID-19 vaccines(external link)
COVID-19 vaccination programmes – 2024 & beyond
XBB.1.5 strain vaccine
Pfizer's Comirnaty brand COVID-19 vaccine is available to combat newer strains of COVID-19. It became available to New Zealanders from March 2024 and the paediatric version of the vaccine was introduced for babies and children aged 6 months to 11 years of age in May 2024.
Media release: COVID-19 vaccine available in March
The Pfizer vaccines are the only Medsafe-approved and funded vaccines that are available for use in New Zealand. We have previously funded a Novavax vaccine for COVID-19. However, Novavax has decided to withdraw its application for approval of its latest vaccine, Nuvaxovid XBB.1.5 vaccine. There is currently no Novavax vaccine available in New Zealand.
Keeping up with changes to COVID-19 vaccines
The World Health Organization and some overseas regulators recommended updates to COVID-19 vaccine composition. This is a similar process to the yearly flu vaccine composition update, that happens globally.
Pharmac's approach to funding new COVID-19 vaccines will consider international recommendations on the composition and those that have Medsafe approval.
Medsafe's COVID-19 vaccine strain update application procedure(external link)
Pharmac will continue to work with suppliers to ensure that vaccines supplied to New Zealand follow Medsafe guidance, especially on timeliness of distribution.
Purchasing COVID-19 vaccines – 2020
In 2020, the COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy Taskforce was established. In late 2020 / early 2021, agreements were reached with four vaccine suppliers, representing different vaccine technologies. This helped supply start in early 2021.
The agreements were with:
- Pfizer/BioNTech
- Novavax
- Janssen
- University of Oxford/AstraZeneca
Ministry of Health released a summary of these agreements, including the circumstance that they were negotiated in.
Future vaccine purchasing
We have sought funding applications for vaccines that provide protection against COVID-19.
We will use the applications to consider options for future procurement and supply. Pharmac will use its usual assessment process, including seeking clinical advice on the applications in the first half of 2024.
Vaccines continue to be available for eligible people.
Call for funding applications for vaccines providing protection against COVID-19
Pharmac’s assessment process explained
Who to contact
If you have questions about Pharmac's COVID-19 vaccine purchasing, email enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz