The Government rejected expert advice to give higher vaccine priority to Māori and Pacific peoples aged 50-64, and to those in residential care, including the imprisoned, the homeless and the addicted.
"It is concerning because that suggests that we're slipping away from following the science - that's problematic," said Dr Rawiri Jansen, who quit the Government's expert immunisation advisory group over the issue.
Most Māori and Pacific peoples up to the age of 64 will instead be part of the general rollout, while those aged 65 and over will have the same priority as the others in that age group - even though they are much more likely to catch Covid-19 and have more severe outcomes.
"The higher proportion of cases among Māori and Pacific peoples linked to the August 2020 cluster demonstrates the significant risk of infection and transmission in these communities," said a paper which Cabinet considered on March 1.
"The rate of infection during the second wave was six people per 100,000 for Māori (47 cases) and 32.3 people per 100,000 for Pacific peoples (104 cases), compared to rates of 1.3 for European/other and 2.2 for Asian per 100,000.