9. Question No. 9—Research Science and InnovationGINNY ANDERSEN (Labour) to the Minister of Research Science and InnovationQuestion No. 9—Research Science and Innovation9. GINNY ANDERSEN (Labour) to the Minister of Research Science and Innovation: What recent announcements has she made about progress on the COVID19 vaccine strategy?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Research Science and Innovation): On Thursday last week I joined the Prime Minister at the Malaghan Institute in Wellington to provide an update on progress made on New Zealand's vaccine strategy with additional funding going towards securing access for vaccines when they become available. In keeping with our going hard and going early" approach to COVID-19 in New Zealand we have been engaged with the global search for a vaccine since the early stages and we are now well connected to all parts of vaccine development distribution and use. The contribution is in the order of hundreds of millions of dollars and will help secure access to promising vaccine candidates. This funding is in addition to our contributions for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations in the global COVAX Facility announced in May. Securing early access to a vaccine will be critical not only for our own population but for our Pacific neighbours as well and we're working hard to ensure that New Zealanders can get vaccinated as soon as one becomes available. Ginny Andersen: How will domestic capability and manufacturing contribute to New Zealand accessing a vaccine?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: New Zealand's science and vaccine manufacturing sectors have an incredibly important role to play in ensuring New Zealanders get early access to a vaccine. Locally the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand will receive $10 million to lead COVID-19 vaccine research through a vaccine development and evaluation platform. This will see the brightest minds from the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research the University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington work together to support global efforts to develop vaccines that are safe and fit for purpose. BioCell will receive $3 million to upgrade its existing facilities so it's in a position to scale up and support local and global vaccine manufacturing. Depending on the chosen vaccine this could see up to 100 million vaccines manufactured annually right here in New Zealand—an important contribution to the global effort. New Zealand is well placed through the efforts of our researchers and Medsafe to leverage our expertise and to ensure that everybody can access a safe and effective vaccine as soon as possible. Ginny Andersen: How will New Zealand's relative success in dealing with the coronavirus mean we are at the back of the queue for the vaccine?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: No. Our relative success to date in keeping COVID-19 contained in New Zealand does not count against us when we aim to secure a vaccine to keep our population protected from COVID-19. Our vaccine strategy has been developed with this in mind and this latest boost in funding is key to being part of and contributing to global efforts. This is a novel approach to securing vaccine access but new and innovative approaches are required to ensure that New Zealand does not get left behind. We know that vaccine nationalism is the inhibitor to progress in our search for a vaccine so our multilateral approaches with leading international organisations and in partnership with our Australian neighbours mean we are well placed to secure supply as one become available."