Pharmac Urged To Widen Access To Covid Vaccines

Aotearoa Covid Action (ACA) is calling on Pharmac to reconsider its proposal to award principal supply of Covid-19 vaccines exclusively to Pfizer’s Comirnaty, citing concerns over limited access and equity. The group has urged its members and others to support Pharmac maintaining and widening vaccine access to all who want them before the public consultation closes today at 5:00 PM.

Pharmac’s current proposal would fund only the Comirnaty vaccine, with alternative brands available solely through its Exceptional Circumstances framework. ACA believes this creates an exclusionary barrier that may prevent some people from getting vaccinated or boosted at all.

“If the goal is for as many Kiwis as possible to be vaccinated and boosted, they must feel engaged and empowered. Having a few options does this. Comirnaty is an mRNA vaccine. It is contraindicated for some, and some simply prefer a different, protein-based vaccine such as Novavax. Pharmac should accommodate these needs and preferences instead of promoting a one-size-fits-all model,” says Julia Schiller, a spokesperson for ACA.

In its own submission on the proposal, ACA also suggests Pharmac widen the pool of New Zealanders eligible for Covid vaccinations and boosters, noting for example that regular boosters are unavailable to the nearly 2 million Kiwis under the age of 30 and that children under five cannot ordinarily receive any vaccination at all.

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“Pharmac itself has acknowledged that protection wanes significantly over time, so it’s odd that they are not looking to widen eligibility for boosters. Many of our under-30s would have last had a booster years ago,” said Schiller.

The organisation points out that recent New Zealand research identified an “urgent need to revise New Zealand’s eligibility criteria [and] make vaccines available and accessible to younger age groups”.

“The more we learn, the more we see that Covid infections present a potential risk to all the body’s organs and systems. Data suggests Long Covid is a real consequence of at least 10% of infections. We simply must do more to protect our tamariki and rangitahi and their teachers, both for their own health and to reduce spread of infections from schools to families to the greater community. We need a diversified and accessible vaccination strategy,” said Schiller.

Widening vaccine availability aligns with the third demand of ACA’s ongoing petition campaign, which advocates for more accessible vaccinations and boosters, among other measures to slow the transmission of airborne diseases.

“Winter has arrived and with it, a jump in cases of influenza and Covid, in particular the new variant NB.1.8.1,” Schiller added. The World Health Organisation has designated NB.1.8.1 a variant under monitoring. As of 29 May, it accounted for 21.6% of Aotearoa’s current Covid cases, according to ESR’s wastewater monitoring.

“Pharmac must ensure that a choice of vaccines is not only available but also easily accessible to all, regardless of location or circumstance. Pharmac approved five different formulations of the flu vaccine this year so it seems reasonable to ask they offer a choice of at least two different Covid vaccines.”

Aotearoa Covid Action encourages individuals and organizations to email their feedback on the proposal to vaccines@pharmac.govt.nz

For more information on Aotearoa Covid Action’s stance and to support their petition, visit Aotearoa Covid Action’s Website and Clean Air in Schools Petition.

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