Source: Radio New Zealand
Labour leader Chris Hipkins speaking to media on Friday. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Labour leader Chris Hipkins has denied misleading New Zealanders after revelations he had been aware of the potential risks to teenagers of a second Covid-19 vaccine dose in 2022 despite recently claiming otherwise.
Earlier this month, Hipkins said the Ministry of Health never passed that expert advice on to ministers. That was also the finding of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Covid-19.
However, a newly surfaced Cabinet paper, uncovered by NZ Herald senior writer Derek Cheng, showed that information was provided to ministers. The paper, in Hipkins’ name, was presented to a Cabinet committee meeting in late March.
The advice – from the Covid-19 Vaccine Technical Advisory Group – stated a two dose schedule for the Pfizer vaccine “may add an unnecessary risk of myocarditis” for children under the age of 18.
By that point, 92 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds had already received both doses of the vaccine.
Speaking on Friday, Hipkins said he had forgotten about that particular Cabinet paper, but any suggestions of a cover-up were “just utterly wrong”.
“I didn’t recall the existence of the Cabinet paper in question,” he said. “Had I done so, I might have added an extra word or two to what I said earlier.”
Hipkins said the paper did not “materially change” the fact that the advice was not given to ministers earlier at the point they were actually making decisions around mandates.
“The government never received the advice when those decisions were being made.”
Asked why he did not make the information public when he did become aware in late March, Hipkins said he always left that guidance to the “relevant health officials” at the regular media conferences.
“I’m not a health practitioner,” he said. “I think it was appropriate that we left that to the relevant health officials.”
Hipkins said there was “absolutely not” an active decision to keep the information from the public, noting that the Cabinet paper was slated for proactive release.
He said, as a parent himself, he understood people’s anxiety about their children’s health: “I totally do.”
After the release of the commission’s findings in early March, Dr Andrew Old, deputy director-general of health at the Ministry of Health’s public health agency, acknowledged a “significant failing” regarding the advice about 12- to -17-year-olds.
He accepted there had been a delay in providing that information to ministers and a failure to clearly communicate it to the public “in a timely way”.
“We recognise the importance of timely, evidence-based communication for maintaining public trust and confidence. In this instance, the standard was not met.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
