Polynesian spa, Spa in Rotorua, New Zealand

Wellington, Feb 10 The New Zealand government has formally approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, a Minister said on Wednesday.In a statement, Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said that border workers and the people they live with will be the first to be vaccinated, Xinhua news agency reported.He added that people such as cleaners' nurses who undertake health checks in managed isolation facilities; security staff; customs and border officials; airline staff; and hotel workers will also be among the first to get the vaccine.Following the provisional approval by New Zealand's medical regulatory body Medsafe last week, the formal government approval represents another critical step in the process of ensuring the vaccine is safe and effective for New Zealanders, according to the Minister."Medsafe's provisional approval was step one and 'decision to use' is a further greenlight on the road to our rollout. After receiving further advice, Cabinet has endorsed officials' advice to use Pfizer/BioNTech."While we've found the 'decision to use' process around this first application to be relatively straightforward, the government also recognise there will be a huge amount of further detail to consider as the other vaccines in our portfolio of 14.91 million courses go through the Medsafe approval process."As part of our portfolio, we have secured up to 750,000 courses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine through an Advance Purchase Agreement, and we are seeking a further small allocation through the COVAX Facility," ," Hipkins said in the statement.He confirmed that the vaccine has been assessed by the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) and has gained its approval for use in the country."While vaccination of our border and other frontline workers takes place, we will continue to receive advice from officials on the other vaccines in our portfolio. Medsafe is in regular conversations with AstraZeneca and Janssen and has begun engagement with Novavax. A similar rigorous approval process is being followed."The total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has increased to 2,324, while the death toll stood at 25, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. ( With inputs from IANS )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Polynesian SpaFOLLOW

Polynesian spa, Latest News

Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was on Monday elected as the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) seventh Director-General, becoming the first woman and first African to take on the role. ...

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chairman Martin Snedden on Monday was appointed to the board of the ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 2022. ...

The first 60,000 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine arrived in New Zealand on Monday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. ...

Auckland, Feb 15 New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chair Martin Snedden has been appointed to the board of the ... ...

New Zealand is imposing first lockdown restrictions since October on the city of Auckland -- its most populous city -- for three days after three COVID-19 community cases were reported, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Sunday. ...

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) on Sunday announced that opening batsman Martin Guptill will be undergoing a fitness test, and upon clearing it, he will be in the fray to play as an opening batsman in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia. ...

New Zealand has officially suspended all diplomatic ties with Myanmar as it does not recognise the legitimacy of the new military-led government. ...

Wellington, Feb 10 The New Zealand government has formally approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, a Minister ... ...