$23m to replace National Immunisation Register

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eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

The government is investing a further $23 million to develop a new National Immunisation Register to support the roll-out of a Covid-19 vaccine when one becomes available.

The funding is on top of $15 million already committed to extend the National Contact Tracing System (NCTS) to manage the delivery of a vaccine

A further $30 million will also be invested in contact tracing, including information technology and development of the Covid Tracer App, and $14.6 million in telehealth services, as part of a $302 million funding package, announced by Health Minister Chris Hipkins.

The NCTS is a re-purposing of the National Screening Solution (NSS) platform, built on Salesforce technology, which was due to start rolling out to DHBs early this year.

Shayne Hunter, deputy director general data and digital, says the new NIS leverages a combination of the NSS and other technologies.  

He says the new solution will ensure that all vaccinators can register vaccinations and will also assist immunisation providers to reach those who need vaccinating by using data to target at-risk communities and populations where immunisation coverage is low. 

Hipkins says the current NIS could not cope with the scale and complexity of a mass Covid-19 vaccination campaign and therefore work needs to start now on a replacement.

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