6. Question No. 6—Prime MinisterDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime MinisterQuestion No. 6—Prime Minister6. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Prime Minister: Does she stand by her statement in relation to a COVID-19 vaccine that At this point our expectation that we've been running to is more around the March date"? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN (Prime Minister): Yes. David Seymour: Why is her expectation for a vaccine roll-out in New Zealand as late as March 2021 when hospitals in countries such as the UK have been told to prepare for a roll-out as soon as next week? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Look over the past couple of weeks even I've had conversations with leaders in other countries that like us have entered into advance purchase arrangements. We do not yet as nations have exact clarity on delivery dates for vaccines. Some—in fact the vast majority—are still in clinical trials. So that's the first thing. The second issue is that each country will take their own perspective or at least sequencing around the regulatory approvals. Some countries because they are experiencing a large-scale loss of life may choose to accept higher risk in their regulatory process. Thirdly there will not necessarily be the same delivery date for all countries and I do again just reference the fact that some countries are experiencing large-scale loss of life. David Seymour: When will the Prime Minister be able to lay out a time line for applying or making available the vaccine given that it's become available given New Zealand's perspective? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Well firstly as I say the majority of vaccines are still in some form of clinical trial. So it is highly speculative as to when different countries will expect arrival dates and as I say other leaders I've spoken to are speculating themselves. In terms of New Zealand's time lines we are still negotiating. We have already announced advance purchase arrangements with two companies—with two pharmaceutical companies. We are in commercially sensitive negotiations with others. As they are announced we of course share those details. What I'm looking to do is before Christmas try and give a bit more certainty around what our current expectations are. But as I've already said they're not all arriving at the same time. We expect smaller amounts of doses in the first instance and we will need to sequence then vaccination across the country over the course of the year. SPEAKER: Just before the member goes for his next question—and it's an advisory thing and I let that one run because everyone was interested in the answer—one's not meant to use a "given" in a question. It actually added nothing. David Seymour: Thank you for the reminder Mr Speaker. Supplementary: wouldn't it be smart to start planning the roll-out of a vaccine before it arrives? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Absolutely. The suggestion we're not is incorrect. Of course we have already put in place—for instance for some of the vaccines they have different requirements around storage. We've put in place the purchasing arrangements to be able to assure that. The work will need even on micro-credentialing to have the staff across the country for a large-scale vaccination programme when it becomes available. We already have Medsafe working on approvals with the clinical data that's being provided by pharmaceutical companies even though the vaccination is not in-country. So it is all under way as you would expect. David Seymour: What percentage of vaccine uptake would be required before vaccination allowed New Zealand to change its policies at the border opening up to more countries? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: A good question. One of the issues is that with the trials we have at the moment there is not sufficient data to tell us whether or not the prevention of the onset of disease is going to have an effect on transmission—so being vaccinated does not mean that you will not still pass on COVID-19 to others. It may well mean that but we don't have enough data yet to tell us. What we do know is that there has been an observed reduction in asymptomatic infections and so you can assume that it will have an impact. To answer your question though around what scale of immunisation of course we want herd immunity—that's the best way that we can protect our population. David Seymour: What exactly then was the Prime Minister referring to when she said that her expectation she'd been running to was more around the March date? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Of course you'll know as I've said we have advance purchase agreements with two companies at this stage. The first early expectation around delivery around one of those—the suggestion has been that it could be March. Again there is still some uncertainty there. I will caution: we're not talking enough doses to vaccinate the whole country which is why I've talked about the need for a rolling regime. David Seymour: Can the Prime Minister tell New Zealanders anything concrete today about what to expect from the arrival of a COVID vaccine and its effects on the Government's COVID response next year? Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: Firstly that New Zealand will have not just one vaccine. There will be many. Some will be more appropriate for different parts of the population than others. That the first arrivals are likely to be smaller numbers of doses and that we'll need to sequence the distribution of those for those who are in higher-risk areas of work. Secondly that as data across the globe is provided we'll be able to see whether or not the vaccine also reduces the amount of transmission. That will help us know whether or not for instance a vaccinated traveller bears risk to New Zealand or not. And thirdly that we are doing everything we can to make sure that we can provide a safe vaccine when it's available to all New Zealanders for free. David Seymour: Can the Prime Minister tell the House and the public on what date she expects to be able to give a more specific time line for the roll-out of vaccination against COVID in New Zealand?Rt Hon JACINDA ARDERN: My expectation is that I'll give an update before Christmas. But again there will be a certain degree of speaking in terms of quarters because we simply do not have firm arrival dates for some vaccines that as I've said are still in clinical trials let alone large-scale production."