11,000 New Zealand vaccine exemptions granted to healthcare workers, not elites

Context

Social media users have claimed that 11,000 politicians and elites in New Zealand were exempted from COVID-19 vaccination. Some of the posts contain a screenshotted article, others a 4-minute-long video. The claims are circulating on Facebook, TikTok, and X (formerly Twitter). The screenshotted article (translated from the original German) was published on December 1, 2023, by a Swiss-domain website promoting conspiracy theories and misinformation.

According to the article, "An Open Government Act request revealed that 11,000 politicians and members of the elite had been exempt from vaccination." The only source of the claim in the article is a November 29 X post with more than 101,000 views by Reclaim Party MP Andrew Bridgen, a known pusher of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation. Bridgen's post contains the same 4-minute video as other posts, alleging that New Zealand politicians and elites have been exempted. The post was further amplified by being reposted by the official X account of the New Zealand party NZ Loyal.

The video is an interview between Michael Grey Griffith, a Melbourne-based playwright vocal in his opposition to the COVID vaccines, and Liz Gunn, leader of NZ Loyal. They discuss deaths allegedly caused by the vaccines, and at 1:44, Griffith says, "The thing that has come out from New Zealand was that freedom of information that showed they had 11,000 exemptions, most of them the politicians and the elite." 

The People's Voice – a website known to publish false claims and conspiracy theories – published a piece claiming similar on October 4 that New Zealand's government "exempted elite from 'deadly' COVID jabs, while forcing vax on the public." As evidence, it referred to a response from the New Zealand National Public Health Service to an official information request dated August 2, 2023. According to the response, 11,000 workers had been covered by granted exceptions. 

However, the figure refers to an approximate number of healthcare workers temporarily exempted from the vaccination mandate so New Zealand's essential health services could continue functioning. The exemption did not cover politicians and elites.

In fact

During the COVID-19 pandemic, two vaccination exemptions were available to New Zealanders, Matt Hannant, director of planning, purchasing, and performance of New Zealand's National Public Health Service, told Logically Facts. 

The Significant Service Disruption Exemption was available to essential healthcare service workers. The Temporary Medical Exemption was open to anyone aged 18 and over who could not receive vaccinations for clinical reasons. There were no special exemptions given to politicians or elites. All exemptions were temporary, with the Significant Service Disruption Exemption ranging from 7 days to 8 weeks and Temporary Medical Exemptions ranging from 3 to 6 months.

Of the 6,410 individual Temporary Medical Exemptions, 5,684 were granted to people with COVID-19 who couldn't be fully vaccinated until the recommended interval between illness and the COVID-19 vaccine.

The 11,000-figure central to claims on social media refers to the number of workers granted the Significant Service Disruption Exemption. This was only available to essential healthcare workers. It did not cover "politicians and elites," as posts claim. 

Hammant confirmed that approximately 11,005 workers had been covered through the Significant Service Disruption Exemptions. The application process allowed one application to cover more than one worker. Applicants often made multiple applications in sequence, so affected workers were often listed in numerous applications. It is, therefore, possible that the number of individual workers granted the exemption is lower than 11,000. 

85 of the 103 granted applications came from New Zealand's 20 District Health Boards. Until June 2022, they were the responsible bodies for ensuring the provision of health services. All boards applied for the Significant Service Disruption Exemption at least once. The exemption was introduced so essential health services could continue functioning while healthcare workers completed the mandated COVID-19 vaccine course.

Then-Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, received her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on June 18, 2021. 

The verdict

The 11,000 figure refers to an approximate number of healthcare workers temporarily exempted from the vaccination mandate so New Zealand's essential health services could continue functioning. The exemption did not cover politicians and elites. It is possible that the exemption covered fewer than 11,000 individuals. Other exemptions were granted to people with COVID-19 who couldn't be fully vaccinated until the recommended interval between illness and the COVID-19 vaccine. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19, including symptoms, prevention, and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organization or your national healthcare authority.