New Zealand Grants Provisional Approval for Pfizer Vaccine

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] New Zealand has provisionally approved the use of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on the 3rd that the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority has provisionally approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine to receive approval for use in New Zealand. The quantity New Zealand ordered from Pfizer is 1.5 million doses, enough to vaccinate 750,000 people.

New Zealand has also ordered a total of vaccines sufficient for over 15 million people, including 7.6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from the UK-Sweden joint pharmaceutical company, 10.72 million doses of the US Novavax vaccine, and 10 million doses of the Janssen vaccine, planning to provide free vaccinations even to the citizens of Pacific island nations.

The Pfizer vaccine is expected to be delivered to New Zealand by the end of March. Priority vaccination recipients are expected to be workers and their families at government-managed quarantine facilities for overseas arrivals.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern emphasized, "We are focused on ensuring that all New Zealanders can receive vaccinations safely and at the appropriate time," adding, "This provisional approval allows the vaccination process to begin."

Ardern explained, "The Pfizer vaccine will be prioritized for people who clean quarantine facilities, nurses responsible for health checks at quarantine facilities, security personnel, customs and immigration officers, airline staff, and hotel employees."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.