Covid 19 coronavirus: Vaccine safety committee investigating two deaths in NZ

With plenty of speculation surrounding New Zealand's vaccine rollout, the New Zealand Herald hunts answers to the burning questions on how and when you will get vaccinated. Video / NZ Herald

Health officials are investigating the deaths of two New Zealanders in their 80s who have died since having the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 jab under "an abundance of caution".

Officials have stated there is currently no direct link to the vaccinations.

The Ministry of Health says it has been made aware of the deaths and "through an abundance of caution" they were investigating fully.

Medical staff believed the deaths were not related to being vaccinated.

"Our sincere sympathy to their families and friends who are grieving their loss," a Ministry of Health spokesperson said.

Both deaths have been reported to the Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring.

The process includes Medsafe "closely" monitoring all reports.

Details of when the duo where given the Covid-19 vaccine were not yet known. That includes the timing of their death after being vaccinated.

She was "not at all" worried by tonight's news, vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris said.

"People need to understand that we're going to see lots of events occur after people have the jab."

That's because around 80, mostly elderly, people died in New Zealand every day.

She didn't have all the details about the deaths of the two people in their 80s, but "I know enough to know they are not in any way related to the vaccine".

But the investigation was the right thing to do, the University of Auckland associate professor said.

"It's important to determine if there's anything concerning."

She's too young to be booked in for the jab yet, but wouldn't hesitate if it was her turn tomorrow.

"You bet ... hundreds of millions have had [the vaccines] and there's no indication they kill people."

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More than 300,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 jab have been given in New Zealand so far.

Ministry of Health data shows that in the week leading up to April 3, there had been seven serious adverse reaction cases reported. A further 196 non-serious cases had been reported in that period.

A Ministry of Health spokesperson said: "We remain confident the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective."

The Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring is Dunedin-based.

Its core role includes working with Medsafe to ensure the safety of medicines, including vaccines, in New Zealand.

Earlier in the day, the ministry had confirmed there were no new Covid-19 cases in the community but there were three fresh cases in managed isolation. Three further historical cases in managed isolation were also confirmed.

The three latest cases involved single travellers who have arrived via Guatemala, the Maldives and France.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins also revealed on Saturday night that flights to and from Sydney to New Zealand would resume at 11.59pm on Sunday.

The flights were paused on Thursday after a community case in Sydney.

"I am pleased with the way the response process has been managed this week. There has been close liaison between the health agencies, and this is reflected in the sound advice our respective Governments have received," Hipkins said.

"We acknowledge that this travel pause has caused disruption to travel plans.

"New Zealand has consistently taken a precautionary approach to keeping Covid-19 out. The Government's overall public health strategy in respect of the Covid-19 pandemic is elimination. Border controls are a key tool for stopping the introduction and spread of new cases from overseas and remain central to our elimination strategy."