Vaccines: PHARMAC’s role PHARMAC lists all publicly funded vaccines in the Pharmaceutical Schedule. Unlike other medicines, PHARMAC purchases and maintains a stock of all funded vaccines. The influenza (flu) vaccine and covid-19 vaccine are managed differently.
How PHARMAC decides what vaccines to list in the Schedule Vaccines are added to the Pharmaceutical Schedule the same way as any other medicine. Someone, usually a vaccine supplier, applies to PHARMAC to fund a vaccine. PHARMAC then convenes the Immunisation Subcommittee of the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC). The Subcommittee gives us clinical advice on vaccine funding applications and other matters. Browse the National Immunisation Schedule (Section I of the Pharmaceutical Schedule) which lists all funded vaccines: reference [27] The Ministry of Health maintains a separate list, also called the National Immunisation Schedule. It lists the vaccines that are offered free to babies, children, adolescents and adults. Read the National Immunisation Schedule – Ministry of Health website: reference [28]
Covid-19 vaccine PHARMAC was part of the all-of-government team that secured agreements for four different Covid-19 vaccines for New Zealanders. Read more on this topic: https://pharmac.govt.nz/news-and-resources/covid19/covid-19vaccines/
Who can get vaccinated PHARMAC manages eligibility for funded vaccines. They target the funding for vaccines to ensure those who will benefit most can get vaccinated.
Deciding how much to buy Some vaccines take a long time to make (up to 18 months). This can make knowing how much vaccine to buy difficult as PHARMAC needs to forecast so far in advance of when it's needed. Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Landscape of NZ
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