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Download AudioThe Director General of Health has told the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency any data handed over to help Māori vaccination efforts must be destroyed after the end of June next year.
Ashley Bloomfield also proposed a data sharing agreement spelling out the data only be used for vaccination purposes.
In the wake of last week’s High Court finding, Dr Bloomfield has agreed to hand over individual identifiable Māori health data for unvaccinated Māori for the remaining DHB areas in the North Island: Northland, Hawkes Bay and Whanganui.
Data on Māori needing a second dose will be provided at three to four weeks following a first dose of vaccine for those not enrolled with a primary care provider, and six weeks for those who have not booked a second dose with their primary care providers.
He said various iwi had objected to handing over the data, and because of the good work of iwi health providers in Wairarapa there are only 98 individuals left to be vaccinated to achieve a 90 percent first vaccination rate for Māori.
Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chief executive John Tamihere says the drip feed of information by court direction without good will has meant the ability of whānau ora providers to use the data before Christmas is deeply impaired.
“To have denied our right to our data denied us the right to our vaccine and it’s not about our people, it’s about who engineered the process in spite of us,” Mr Tamihere says.
He says it’s consistent with the ministry’s position throughout.
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