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Ministry of Health New Zealand

The Ministry of Health (known as Manatū Hauora in Māori) is an agency of the New Zealand Government responsible for health care. It is based in Thorndon, Wellington.

History

As of November 19, 2021, the Ministry of Health had processed 97 applications for exemption from the government's mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy. 81 applications had been approved for a six-month exemption.[1]

From November 13, 2021 to September 26, 2022, a total of 478 applications for "Significant Service Disruption" exemption to the mandate were received by the Ministry. 103 of those applications were granted, covering approximately 11,005 workers.[2][3] With a total staff of around 80,500 staff, this means as many as 14% of Ministry staff received exemptions.[4]

Organization

The Ministry of Health publishes completed responses to Official Information Act (OIA) requests on its website when "the information is considered to be of public interest, and where there is no risk to the privacy of individuals."[5]

  1. McCallum, H. (2021, November 19). Covid-19: Over 80 per cent of applications for vaccination exemptions for healthcare workers approved. Stuff. http://archive.today/2023.10.10-191616/https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/127041590/covid19-over-80-per-cent-of-applications-for-vaccination-exemptions-for-healthcare-workers-approved ↩︎

  2. Hannant, M. (2023, August 2). HNZ00023978 Response Letter. Te Whatu Ora - Health New Zealand. http://archive.today/2023.10.07-152823/https://fyi.org.nz/request/23284/response/88679/attach/html/4/HNZ00023978 Response Letter.pdf.html ↩︎

  3. Hatchard, G. (2023, October 4). The Ministry of Health Granted Vaccine Exemptions to Hundreds Among Its Key Staff. Hatchard Report. http://archive.today/2023.10.07-152606/https://hatchardreport.com/the-ministry-of-health-granted-vaccine-exemptions-to-hundreds-among-its-key-staff/ ↩︎

  4. Hatchard, G. (2023, October 5). Additional Information: Thousands of MOH Workers Were Granted Covid Vaccine Exemptions. Hatchard Report. http://archive.today/2023.10.10-183705/https://hatchardreport.com/additional-information-thousands-of-moh-workers-were-granted-covid-vaccine-exemptions/ ↩︎

  5. Responses to Official Information Act requests. Ministry of Health NZ. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from https://web.archive.org/web/20231010192032/https://www.health.govt.nz/about-ministry/information-releases/responses-official-information-act-requests ↩︎