The Government has secured an extra half a million doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines from Denmark that will start arriving in New Zealand within days, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today.

“This is the second and larger agreement the Government has entered into to purchase additional vaccines to meet the significantly increased demand through September before our large shipments land in October,” Jacinda Ardern said.

“These doses along with the 275,000 doses purchased from Spain last week provide an additional 775,000 to New Zealand’s vaccine supplies.

“There is now more than enough vaccine in the country to vaccinate at the world leading rates we were hitting earlier in the month, and I strongly encourage every New Zealander not yet vaccinated to do so as soon as possible.

“We are extremely grateful to Denmark for making these vaccines available to help protect Aotearoa New Zealand against the current Delta outbreak.

“Our sincere gratitude is extended to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and her officials for their agreement and assistance to sell these doses to New Zealand. I wish to thank the European Commission for coordinating this purchase, as well as Belgium, for their role in producing the vaccine.

“Throughout the pandemic the team of 5 million has shown their commitment to keeping our communities safe. In 2020 we stayed home to save lives, in 2021 we need everyone to get vaccinated to protect family and loved ones and to prevent future lockdowns.

“76% of people aged 12 and older are either booked or have received their first dose, but we can’t get complacent. Other countries with higher rates than this are still experiencing outbreaks, so we need to get vaccination rates up around the country and this extra supply will help with that.

“This extra supply means we can continue to roll out vaccines well ahead of plan, so that everyone in New Zealand over the age of 12 can be vaccinated as soon as possible for free,” Jacinda Ardern said.

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