Ngā kano ārai mate KOWHEORI-19 i Aotearoa COVID-19 vaccines in Aotearoa
Learn about the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine approved for use in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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How COVID-19 vaccines protect you
The COVID-19 vaccine stimulates your body’s immune system to make antibodies and fight the virus.
The vaccines help prevent you from:
- getting infected
- having COVID-19 symptoms
- severe illness.
This means you could have COVID-19 with no symptoms or will have fewer, milder symptoms and recover faster.
Being up to date with your immunisations means that you might still get infected with COVID-19. But it significantly reduces your chances of becoming seriously ill or ending up in hospital.
Vaccine safety
COVID-19 vaccines are one of the most well-studied vaccines ever made.
They needed to be rolled out quickly, but that does not mean safety was compromised. The Pfizer vaccine we are using in Aotearoa New Zealand is held to the same high safety standards as any other medicine.
How does the vaccine work
English
The Pfizer vaccine is an mRNA vaccine that protects us against COVID-19.
How does it work? Let’s start by looking at the coronavirus.
This is the virus that causes COVID-19.
The virus uses the spikes on its surface to enter our cells.
The spikes of the virus also help our body to identify the virus as an intruder.
The vaccine works by showing our body the spike protein, so our immune system can prepare to quickly spot and attack the virus.
To create the vaccine, scientists created mRNA (or messenger RNA) that contains the recipe for building the spike protein.
This acts as a messenger carrying instructions to our cells.
When we get the vaccine, the mRNA instructs our cells to build copies of the spike protein. They only build the spike protein, not the whole virus.
As our bodies build these copies, our immune systems kick in and create antibodies to fight off the intruders.
We get two doses of the vaccine because the first dose starts to build our immune response and the second dose acts as a booster so our immune system can remember and mount a stronger response when it encounters the virus.
Once the immune system is primed, it will remember the virus for months or even years. If we encounter the virus in the future, the immune system will launch an antibody attack immediately.
Nothing is left behind from the vaccine (our body breaks down the mRNA) and there is no possibility of the vaccine affecting our body’s DNA.
Te reo Māori
He rongoā ārai mate mRNA te rongoā ārai mate Pfizer ka tiaki i a tātou i te Kowheori-19.
He pēhea tana mahi? Me tīmata tātou i te tirotiro ki te mate korona.
E ahu mai ana te KOWHEORI-19 i tēnei huaketo. Ka whakamahi te huaketo i ngā tara o tōna mata ki te kōkuhu atu ki ō tātou pūtau.
Mā ngā tara o te huaketo e āwhina hoki tō tātou tīnana ki te tautohu i te huaketo hei kaiwhakaeke. Ka mahi te rongoā ārai mate mā te whakaatu ki tō tātou tinana te pūmua o te tara (pūmua tara), kia pai ai te whakariterite o tō tātou pūnaha awhikiri ki te tautohu me te patu tere i te huaketo.
Hei waihanga i te rongoā ārai mate, i waihangaia e ngā kaimātai pūtaiao te mRNA (arā, he messenger RNA) he mea pupuri tohutohu mō te hanga i te pūmua tara.
Ka noho tēnei hei kaikarere e kawe tohutohu ana ki ō tātou pūtau.
Kia whiwhi tātou i te rongoā ārai mate, ko tā te mRNA he tohutohu i ō tātou pūtau ki te hanga tārua o te pūmua tara.
Ka hanga ērā i te pūmua tara anake, kaua te katoa o te huaketo.
Nō te hanganga o ēnei tārua i ō tātou tinana, ka whana mai ō tātou pūnaha awhikiri ki te waihanga paturopi hei whawhai i ngā kaiwhakaeke.
Ka whiwhi tātou e rua ngā tukunga o te rongoā ārai mate nā te mea, ko tā te tukunga tuatahi he tīmata noa iho ki te whakapakari i tō tātou ahwikiri ārai mate, ā, ko te tukunga tuarua hei whakakaha ake kia mahara ai tō tātou pūnaha awhikiri me kaha tonu tana urupare i te tūtākinga ki te huaketo.
Kia rite mai te pūnaha awhikiri, e kore e wareware te huaketo mō ētahi marama, ētahi tau rawa rānei.
Ki te tūtaki tātou ki te huaketo hei ngā rā e tū mai nei, ka tere tonu te huaki ā-paturopi a te pūnaha awhikir.
Kāore e whakarērea he paku aha i te rongoā ārai mate (ka whakapopo tō tātou tinana i te mRNA) nō reira e kore rawa e pāngia te pītau ira o tō tātou tinana e te rongoā ārai mate.
Pfizer vaccines
The COVID-19 vaccine we use in Aotearoa New Zealand is made by Pfizer-BioNTech.
It is also known by its brand name, Comirnaty. It is an mRNA-based (messenger ribonucleic acid) vaccine.
The vaccine used is updated according to the strain of COVID-19 circulating in the community at the time.
You should not get the Pfizer vaccine if you have had a severe allergic reaction to this vaccine or its ingredients. Talk to your vaccinator or healthcare provider about your options.
Pfizer paediatric
Pfizer paediatric (child) is a vaccine that contains a lower dose of mRNA vaccine. It is:
- for tamariki aged 5 years to 11 years old
- infants aged 6 months to 4 years who are at higher risk of severe disease from COVID-19.
How the Pfizer vaccine works
The Pfizer vaccine (Comirnaty) is an mRNA vaccine that contains the genetic code for an important part of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus called the ‘spike protein’. Spike proteins are the little projections on the surface of the virus.
- Once you have had the vaccine, your body reads the genetic code and makes copies of the spike protein.
- Your immune system detects these spike proteins and learns how to recognise and fight against COVID-19. It knows it needs to attack the virus to protect it from spreading in your body.
The genetic code is used by the immune system for as long as it needs it. After that it is broken down by the lymph nodes. This usually takes a few days. In some cases, it can take up to 2 months.
Novavax vaccines
The Pfizer vaccines are the only Medsafe-approved and funded vaccines that are available for use in Aotearoa New Zealand. Pharmac have previously funded a Novavax vaccine for COVID-19. However, in July 2024 Novavax decided to withdraw its application for approval of its latest vaccine, Nuvaxovid XBB.1.5 vaccine. Therefore, the Novavax vaccine is currently unavailable in Aotearoa New Zealand.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss your options, talk to your healthcare provider or call the Vaccination Helpline on 0800 28 29 26
How vaccines are approved for use in Aotearoa
Medsafe is Aotearoa New Zealand’s medicines safety authority. It checks applications for all new medicines, including vaccines, to make sure they meet international standards and local requirements.
It will only recommend approving a medicine for use in Aotearoa if it meets these standards.
Medsafe focuses on 3 key areas when assessing a vaccine:
- safety
- efficacy
- quality.
Its assessment includes looking at:
- manufacturing and quality control information
- pre-clinical data
- results from clinical trials.
- COVID-19 vaccine evaluation and approval process — Medsafe (external link)
- COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring process — Medsafe (external link)
If the vaccines contain new organisms
If any of the COVID-19 vaccines arriving into Aotearoa contain a new organism, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) will be involved.
New organisms — Environmental Protection Agency (external link)
Vaccine side effects
As with all medicines, you might experience some mild side effects when you get a COVID-19 vaccination. This is common, and a sign that your body is learning to fight the virus.