New Zealand companies express interest for workplace vaccination

To be eligible for this programme, organisations should have more than 1,000 employees so as to vaccinate several hundred staff per site, said New Zealand’s Ministry of Health.

Organisations which have expressed interest include those in retail, banking, fisheries, meat, wood and timber processing, telecommunications and electricity providers, and central and local governments, said Astrid Koornneef, the ministry’s COVID-19 vaccination programme operations group manager. 

The ministry has not disclosed the names of these companies, citing “confidential” reasons as the assessment is still in progress. 

Nevertheless, organisations which have confirmed their interest include Fonterra, Mainfreight, Vodafone, Bank of New Zealand, and Auckland Council. 

Fonterra, which has 10,000 employees, is currently planning towards being able to offer vaccinations at its large workplaces – both manufacturing sites and offices, said its spokeswoman. 

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Organisations which seek to implement workplace vaccination should meet the minimum daily requirement of 70 vaccinations per site, but “much higher volumes are anticipated”. 

They also need to have a successful vaccine programme previously delivered on site, such as the influenza jab. The workplace vaccinations are likely to take place from mid-September onwards, according to Stuff.