Despite the demonstration of its unpreparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic, New Zealand has yet to update its outdated 20-year-old pandemic plan, putting the country at risk of not having enough vaccines.
The Auditor General has issued a warning that the Ministry of Health in New Zealand is still relying on a pandemic plan that proved to be inadequate when COVID-19 hit in 2020. While some progress has been made in implementing the recommendations made by the Auditor General, there remains a significant risk of insufficient supplies of antivirals or vaccines in the event of another pandemic.
In a letter to Parliament’s Health Committee, John Ryan cautioned that New Zealand is at risk of falling into a pattern of “panic, then forget” when it comes to addressing major national health challenges. Despite the Ministry accepting and anticipating the implementation of 10 recommendations by the end of 2020/21, progress has been inconsistent.
Although there have been improvements in the sourcing, management, and distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) due to the centralization under Health NZ, the Auditor General noted that further updates are needed in national plans and modeling to determine appropriate stock levels in national reserves and access protocols.
Despite centralized procurement and distribution, over $55 million worth of national reserve supplies were written off in 2023/24, including approximately $2 million in expired vaccine stock. Ryan highlighted that some shortcomings in the COVID response were due to the lack of implementation of previous plan reviews.
It is emphasized that additional work is required to address the recommendations from the 2020 report and provide assurance to the public that New Zealand has adequate reserves for future emergencies. The current vaccine stock levels are based on outdated pandemic modeling and health workforce data from 2005, posing a risk of insufficient supplies for the current population and health workforce.
The second phase of the NZ Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 is not expected to report until February 2026, leading the Ministry to delay certain decisions. The Auditor General stressed the urgency of completing modeling work to ensure sufficient vaccine and antiviral supplies are available.
