With controlled pandemic, New Zealand wants to start mass vaccination only in July – Prime Time Zone

The government led by Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, known for the success of her strategy in combating the new coronavirus, says there is no reason to speed up immunization

EFE / EPA / LUKAS COCH / ArchivePrime Minister Jacinda Arden justified that the situation in New Zealand is different from the rest of the world

While countries around the world are trying to accelerate their vaccination against Covid-19 to reopen commerce and schools safely as soon as possible, the New Zealand he has been enjoying a certain normality for months and is in no hurry with regard to his immunization. Right after the start of new coronavirus pandemic, the Prime Minister’s government Jacinda Ardern adopted a strategy that combined not only the prevention of the disease but also the tracking of cases and the isolation of entire cities that registered new outbreaks. As a result, the country of 4.8 million inhabitants totaled 2,501 infections and only 26 deaths from Covid-19. At a news conference, Arden said that although New Zealand is seeking to vaccinate as soon as possible with the Pfizer–BioNTech, the only one approved in the country so far, there is no reason to run this process. “Some countries are granting emergency use authorizations in response to the public health emergency that is affecting their nations. Obviously, we are in a totally different situation here, ”said the prime minister.

The New Zealand government’s plan is to immunize 530,000 frontline workers, border hotel workers and their families by May. After that, there would be about 1.7 million elderly people and people with comorbidities, and only in July the general population. The goal is that by December 90% of the population has already been vaccinated. As only 41,477 doses have been applied so far, some experts argue that the campaign should be accelerated in order to meet the target by the end of the year. Still others point to the risk of new variants of the coronavirus, which are more contagious and may be causing the increase in the number of cases worldwide. And there are still those who justify the need to immunize the population more quickly, mentioning the need to resume tourism as soon as possible.