9. Question No. 9—COVID-19 ResponseDAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister for COVID-19 ResponseQuestion No. 9—COVID-19 Response9. DAVID SEYMOUR (Leader—ACT) to the Minister for COVID-19 Response: Does he stand by the Prime Minister's statement regarding the Government's COVID-19 vaccine roll-out we've announced our sequencing framework and have a plan in place that will ensure all New Zealanders are offered a vaccine by the end of the year"?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS (Minister for COVID-19 Response): Yes and I also stand by the Prime Minister's statement that we will be ensuring that those most at risk of being exposed to COVID-19—our front-line border workers and our front-line health workers—will be amongst the first New Zealanders to get access to the vaccine.David Seymour: Does he agree with the OECD that "The pace of vaccination needs to accelerate to reduce the risk of new outbreaks and pave the way for full border reopening in 2022."?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The pace of our vaccination campaign is accelerating. The biggest thing that has the potential to slow that is vaccine supply. We are certainly in a position to scale up as fast as the vaccines arrive in New Zealand.David Seymour: Has the Minister received any information from Pfizer recently that they may be about to announce a major delay in supply to New Zealand?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: No that's not the feedback that we have received. I understand Pfizer will be announcing their global allocation for the month of July towards the end of this week. I think we all await that with interest. The feedback that I had from Pfizer last week is that their New Zealand representative in fact used the phrase "lock step" when describing Pfizer's position relative to the New Zealand Government's.Hon Paul Goldsmith: Are we in the near queue or the far queue?David Seymour: How long can the Government maintain vaccination rates as set out in its schedule with doses that are currently onshore and in the Government's possession?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: We currently have just under 250000 doses in our freezers at the moment. We are using just under 100000 per week. We are scheduled to get deliveries sitting around the 50000 mark per week between now and the end of June. That means that towards the end of June we'll be wanting to have some certainty around what's going to be arriving in July. As I've indicated Pfizer is expected to make all of that clear in terms of the month of July later this week.David Seymour: How does the Minister reconcile his statement that the greatest uncertainty is vaccine supply made just a few minutes ago with his statement that Pfizer is in "lock step" with the New Zealand Government? Is he worried about delivery of vaccines from Pfizer or not?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't think those two things are incompatible. We are absolutely confident we'll get the vaccine; we just don't know exactly how many and on what dates.David Seymour: Does that mean that there will be delays and the Government is in danger of missing its target of offering vaccination to all New Zealanders by the end of the year?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: I don't think any person objectively listening to what I have just said would draw that conclusion.David Seymour: So which one is it: does the Minister stand by and agree with the Prime Minister's statement or is there uncertainty caused by the fact he doesn't know how much vaccine is available until Pfizer make an announcement next week?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: The Prime Minister's statement that the member referred to in his primary question referred to all New Zealanders having an opportunity to have the vaccine by the end of the year. I absolutely stand by that statement.Hon Michael Woodhouse: Point of order. You removed a significant number of questions from the National Party which obviously undermines our ability to hold the executive to account. I wonder if you could just clarify whether that was because of the nature of Mr Goldsmith's intervention or the fact that it was during a question. I listened carefully. Mr Goldsmith interjected prior to Mr Seymour asking his supplementary question.SPEAKER: Yes he did. Unfortunately there were at least four or five other members who made noises while Mr Seymour was having his question.David Seymour: Will the Government release the agreement that it has with Pfizer or the schedule of delivery it is working to?Hon CHRIS HIPKINS: Those are commercially sensitive and my understanding is that Pfizer have indicated that they do not wish to have those released."