COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins announced today that the Government has approved a change to the Medicines Regulations so that more people across the country can join the COVID-19 vaccination workforce.
The change means more people in the health and disability sector can now undertake the necessary training to become vaccinators, giving a much-needed boost to the COVID-19 Immunisation Programme.
It will also allow us to boost the numbers of Māori and Pacific in our vaccinator workforce. These new COVID-19 Vaccinators will first be recruited from the kaiāwhina workforce, health professionals trained overseas who are not yet registered in New Zealand, or retired health professionals whose registration has lapsed some time ago.