The government has announced three Covid-19 vaccines commonly administered overseas are now recognised by the Vaccinations Order that requires people working at New Zealand's borders to be fully vaccinated.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of three now recognised by the Vaccinations Order. Photo: Roland Magnusson/ AFP
It follows a change to the legislation in response to the need to recognise other vaccines beyond the Pfizer vaccine - the only Covid-19 vaccine currently available in New Zealand. It took effect at 11.59pm Sunday, 17 October.
In a statement this afternoon, the Ministry of Health said the move would help support employers and keep the community safe.
"This move will support employers to enable workers who have completed their course with the Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen, or Pfizer vaccines overseas to work on or around the border," Fiona Michel, acting national director operations of the Covid-19 Vaccine and Immunisation Programme, said.
"It will also support some employers when recruiting people to work on or around the border, especially for specialised roles.
"Under the previous version of the Vaccinations Order, their vaccination status was not recognised. But these are all vaccines that are either provisionally approved by Medsafe, or by a trusted regulator."
To meet the requirements of the amended Vaccinations Order, a border worker who has received a single-dose of the two-dose Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines while overseas will need to have a further single dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
A border worker who has been vaccinated with the Janssen vaccine while overseas will not require a further dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The amendment also allows the authorisation of a border worker partially vaccinated with the Pfizer, Moderna or AstraZeneca vaccines, or a border worker who is partially vaccinated with another vaccine not named above, to continue working at the border if satisfied that the vaccine received by the worker while overseas will adequately prevent or limit the risk of an outbreak or spread of Covid-19.
"The amendment updates the Vaccinations Order so that it's consistent with clinical advice on the alternatives to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine," Michel said.
"When the original Vaccinations Order was written, the Pfizer vaccine was the only COVID-19 vaccine provisionally approved by Medsafe. The change aligns the Order with Medsafe's provisional approval of two of these other vaccines."