New Zealand Will Bring In 1.5 Million Vaccines From Pfizer And BioNTech

Jacinda Ardern (Instagram / @ jacindaardern)

JAKARTA - The New Zealand government plans to procure 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccines will be purchased from Pfizer and BioNTech.

In the agreement with the biotechnology company from the United States (US) and Germany, the fastest distribution process for the vaccine will be carried out in early 2021. The purchase of 1.5 million vaccines will be used to vaccinate 750 thousand New Zealanders.

Apart from BioNTech and Pfizer, the authorities are also in talks with other vaccine producers in the world. The effort was made to ensure that all New Zealand's population of five million people receive the vaccine.

"The additional agreement will ensure that once the portfolio is complete, we will have enough COVID-19 vaccines for the entire population," said Research Minister, Megan Woods in a statement, quoted by CNA , Monday, October 12.

Pfizer's vaccine is one of the leading vaccine candidates that has received regulatory approval in the United States (US) and Europe. For this reason, the confidence of the world's countries for the vaccine is multiplying.

New Zealand itself is one of the best countries to break the chain of transmission of COVID-19. A responsive government, targeted key decisions, and the obedience of the New Zealand people to government regulations made the virus from Wuhan under control.

So far, New Zealand has confirmed 1,871 cases of COVID-19 transmission. Among them, there were 25 cases died.