5161 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health

5161 (2024). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Associate Minister of Health: What progress, if any, has been made in the last quarter (September to December 2023), toward implementing the recommendation to ‘direct the Ministry, the Interim Public Health Agency, Health NZ and Pharmac to revise the memorandum of understanding to reflect clear roles and functions, including the primacy of the Interim Public Health Agency in ensuring the vaccine schedule is up-to-date and relevant to the health needs of New Zealanders’ from the Pharmac Review final report?

Hon David Seymour: The Pharmac review recommended that the Interim Public Health Agency take responsibility for prioritising vaccines and their eligibility criteria, and consider equity as part of the processes it adopts to do this. The previous Government's response to the review considered that there would be little to gain in splitting out vaccines from other pharmaceuticals, and instead, the Ministry of Health, Public Health Agency and Pharmac will agree on a robust strategy for immunisation outcomes and the key vaccine decisions involved. I am advised that throughout the last quarter, the Public Health Agency has been working with Pharmac and other health agencies to develop a strategic framework for immunisation and plans to consult on it in the near future. Strategic and operational cross-agency governance bodies for immunisation have been established that have equity embedded into their Terms of Reference. Work is underway on revision of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and Pharmac, which will also provide for equity among its principles.