The Government may not release it until next year, but the inquiry chair says it should be published and acted on immediately
Among the findings are the impact of vaccine mandates on social cohesion
Vaccine mandates caused huge pain to a “substantial minority” during the pandemic and Government should consider whether their benefits outweighed their harms, the head of a major Covid-19 inquiry says.
While the mandates during the later stages of the pandemic were supported by most New Zealanders, the damage to social cohesion needed to be considered when planning for future outbreaks, Professor Tony Blakely says.
The first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Covid-19 response will be handed to the Government today, though it is unclear when it will see the light of day.
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden has previously said she will not release it until the second phase of the inquiry is well under way. At the latest, its release could be postponed until early 2026.
Blakely, an epidemiologist and public health specialist who chaired the inquiry, said there was no reason why the report could not be released today and its key recommendations acted on immediately.
“It’s entirely feasible that the minister can release it,” he said, adding: “Let’s get it out there.”
Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden said the inquiry's report may not be released until next year or, at latest, early 2026. Photo / NZME
Over two years, the royal commission heard from 1600 people in person and considered 13,000 submissions and 133,000 pages of evidence. Its recommendations will provide a blueprint for preparing for and responding to another pandemic or national emergency.
Blakely said he could not go into detail about the report until it was released but provided a general briefing to journalists yesterday.
While noting it was not a “blame-finding inquiry”, Blakely said New Zealand’s Covid-19 response was a “game of two halves”. New Zealand responded very well in the first year of the pandemic and then “the wheels started to come a bit wobbly”, he said.
Last month, an Australian inquiry into Covid-19 found vaccine mandates had eroded trust in public institutions, led to “vaccine fatigue”, and would need to have a clear social license if used in future.
Blakely said it was “undeniable” mandates also eroded trust in New Zealand. A majority of the 13,000 submissions were critical of the Covid-19 response, with the largest proportion of them relating to vaccination.
Most New Zealanders were generally supportive of immunisation and many supported the mandates, but they were “hugely painful” for a “substantial minority”, Blakely said.
“And that is an incredibly important lesson out of the pandemic … When you’re doing those types of mandatory things, like mandatory vaccination, they really need to be in a context where the benefits far outweigh the harms.”
Mandates were justified for frontline healthcare workers, border officials, and high-risk places such as prisons.
“But as far as its reach beyond that, I think we have all learned that has to be done very cautiously, even if the majority of the population are … of the view that it should be happening.
“The unintended consequences … for the minority are major and they should be considered. In the future, we only want to be reaching for mandatory things where it’s proportionate.”
One of the key themes in the inquiry’s findings was that people were “more than their health status” and their social and economic considerations were also important, Blakely said.
He would not say whether New Zealand was prepared for another pandemic. But he said the Government needed to calculate the risk of another pandemic or major crisis and work out where to prioritise its investment.
The second phase of the inquiry begins tomorrow. A condition of the coalition agreement, it will focus on vaccines (mandates, approval and safety), lockdowns, and procurement.
Blakely said the first phase was very broad and took many of these subjects into account, but that the second phase — led by Grant Illingworth, KC — would build on some of the findings.
Isaac Davison is an Auckland-based reporter who covers health issues. He joined the Herald in 2008 and has previously covered the environment, politics and social issues.
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