New vaccination data obtained by RCR, alongside emails released earlier this year, reveal that 311,257 teenagers received a second dose of the Covid vaccine after officials and Vaccine Ministers had been advised of the increased risk of myocarditis following a second dose in young people.
An email from Dr Ian Town, the Covid-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group (CV TAG) chair, dated 12 August 2021, shows the group’s advice on myocarditis risk and the recommended dosing schedule for 12 to 17-year-olds had been accepted by Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield and communicated “in detail” to the Vaccine Ministerial Group.
The ‘Vaccine Ministers’ was an informal group with no terms of reference that was set up to help govern the management of New Zealand’s portfolio of Covid-19 vaccines, including the immunisation programme rollout.
Cabinet delegated decision-making authority to the Vaccine Ministers on certain aspects of the Covid-19 Immunisation Programme. Members were Chris Hipkins, Minister for Covid-19 Response and chair of the group; Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern; Finance Minister Grant Robertson; Health Minister Andrew Little; and Associate Health Ministers Dr Ayesha Verrall, Aupito William Sio and Peeni Henare.
The new data, along with the emails, helps join the dots about who knew what, when, and reveals the extraordinary scale of the teen population that subsequently received two doses.
Additionally, OIA documents obtained and reported on over several years, including in The People’s Position, The People’s Report and RCR’s myocarditis timeline, have documented discussions among CV TAG about myocarditis and pericarditis – including the elevated risk following a second dose, alongside consideration of vaccination schedules for young people.
Hellbound and Down 