Little AndrewFirst ReadingHon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): I present a legislative statement on Medicines Amendment Bill—Hon Member: Keep going bro.ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): No no.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Medicines Amendment—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): No. Medicines Amendment Bill brackets.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: Let me start that again. I present a legislative statement on the Medicines Amendment Bill (No 2).ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): That legislative statement is published under the authority of the House and can be found on the Parliament website.Hon ANDREW LITTLE: I move That the Medicines Amendment Bill be now read a first time—ASSISTANT SPEAKER (Hon Jacqui Dean): Order!Hon ANDREW LITTLE: No. 2. I move That the Medicines Amendment Bill (No 2) be now read a first time. I nominate the Health Committee to consider the bill and at the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported to the House by 20 June 2022 and that the committee have authority to meet at any time while the House is sitting except during oral questions during any evening on a day in which there's been a sitting of the House and on a Friday in a week in which there has been a sitting of the House and outside the Wellington area despite Standing Order 193 195 and 196.The COVID-19 vaccination programme has been New Zealand's greatest public health tool in the pandemic. It has enabled us to provide ongoing population protection against COVID-19 and to continue to adapt and to respond as the pandemic evolves.As we know immunity gained from COVID-19 vaccines developed so far does wane over time and can wane within a matter of months. This means the COVID-19 vaccination programme remains ongoing and has so far included two primary doses for most people as well as a third or booster" dose; for some severely immunocompromised people the programme has already provided four doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.We're now at the stage where further doses are required for our most at-risk groups including those aged over 65 years. As we head into winter the usual seasonal respiratory illnesses alongside ongoing widespread COVID-19 infection presents significant risk of severe outcomes for the most vulnerable. Winter will also bring increased pressure on a health system already stretched due to COVID-19.As we continue to adapt our public health measures and response to the pandemic we also have to adapt our vaccination programme to enable us to keep people protected and to be ready to roll out further doses to those who need them most.The bill will allow us to do that by creating a new power that enables the Director-General of Health to authorise by notice the administration of a consented COVID-19 vaccine. The director-general can specify in the notice who may receive the vaccine the recommended number and frequency of doses the recommended manner of administration and any other circumstances in which the vaccine may be administered. The director-general can only use this power in relation to COVID-19 vaccines that already have consent or provisional consent under section 20 or 23 of the Medicines Act. The director-general must be satisfied the authorisation is an appropriate measure to manage the risks associated with the outbreak or spread of COVID-19. They must also have regard to the likely therapeutic value of the COVID-19 vaccine and its risk to any person.While the bill empowers the Director-General of Health to authorise the administration of an already consented COVID-19 vaccine Ministers will be informed of the COVID-19 vaccination options based on the latest scientific and technical advice prior to the director-general's decision.The bill will provide a permanent and futureproofed solution to meet ongoing COVID-19 vaccine requirements such as additional doses changes to dose intervals or targeting different population groups should the scientific evidence support this.I anticipate that the new provision will initially be utilised by the director-general to enable fourth doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be rapidly rolled out to recommended at-risk groups without the need for a prescription in time for winter. This will of course be a decision for the director-general once the amendment comes into force.Previous changes to the COVID-19 vaccine schedule have been enabled through immediate modification orders or IMOs under the Epidemic Preparedness Act. Earlier this year as the highly transmissible Omicron variant reached our shores the Government used an IMO to make provision for third or "booster" doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to be administered at a reduced dose interval of three months instead of the approved six months; this was done in order to maximise protection at that time.IMOs are temporary emergency powers that are automatically revoked when the epidemic notice expires or is revoked. It's now necessary to enable enduring changes to the vaccine schedule and at this stage of the pandemic move towards a position where emergency powers are not required; therefore this bill revokes the IMO and it is intended that the reduction of the third or "booster" dose interval will be authorised permanently via the new provision.The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted provisions in the Medicines Act that are not fit for purpose to enable a rapid flexible and equitable response in emergency situations. In particular the Act does not facilitate the rapid roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines.Looking ahead it's my expectation that the forthcoming therapeutic products bill will enable medicines including vaccines to be rolled out in a timely and flexible manner. In the meantime this bill will help us to manage to the ongoing public health risk of COVID-19. It does this by providing for the ongoing delivery of the third or "booster" doses at the reduced dose interval providing fourth doses for our most at risk and ensuring that we can easily roll out further doses should they be required in the future.I'd like to acknowledge the huge effort of all those who've been involved in the COVID-19 vaccination programme so far including community health providers and all the vaccinators across the motu. Their collective effort has meant New Zealand has one of the highest rates of COVID-19 vaccination in the world. This has prevented thousands of lives from being lost to COVID-19 allowed greater freedoms for all of us and enabled us to open our borders to the world once again. We must keep up the good work of the COVID-19 vaccination programme to maintain that crucial population. On that basis I commend this bill to the House."