[42] On 25 August 2021, a National Party social media post claiming that excess vaccine stocks are not boosters was criticised for inaccuracy by the scientists Helen Petousis-Harris and Alison Campbell.

Hipkins' response followed last-minute appeals by the Government to medical staff to get vaccinations before doses expire and anecdotal reports that "walk-ins" were being accepted at some clinics for the same reason.

[68] That same day, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed that a shipment of more than 370,000 Pfizer vaccines had arrived in New Zealand, allowing the rollout to begin ramping up after slowing down over the past month.

[90] On 29 August, the Bay of Plenty District Health Board drew media attention after Pasifika families in Tauranga were asked to bring passports to check if they were seasonal workers.

[101] On 16 October ("Super Saturday"), the all-day nationwide vaccination telethon ("vaxathon") was held, featuring celebrity guests and health professionals in a coordinated cross-platform broadcast on TVNZ 2, Three, Māori Television, CH200, and various online channels.

[126] On 25 February, Hipkins announced that unvaccinated children and teenagers would be allowed to participate in school sports and extracurricular activities under phase 3 of the country's Omicron response plan.

[138] Following provisional approval by Medsafe, the Director-General of Health and government ministers authorised the use of the paediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine on 16 December for children aged six months to four years at risk of severe disease if they contract COVID-19.

[146][147] Beginning in September 2020, Horizon Research in association with the University of Auckland's School of Population Health conducted a series of public opinion surveys on adult New Zealanders' attitudes and sentiments towards COVID-19 vaccination.

District health board regions where the likelihood of respondents to accept a vaccine is lower than the national average included Waikato, Lakes, Tairawhiti, Whanganui, Hutt, Wairarapa, West Coast and South Canterbury.

[151] In mid November 2021, a 1News–Colmar Brunton public opinion survey found that 74% of New Zealanders supported the Government's vaccine mandate for education, healthcare, port, border and prison workers.

[153] Despite the Tamakis' vocal opposition to vaccine mandates and lockdown policies, Destiny Church leased its carpark in Wiri, Auckland for the Whānau Ora Community Clinic's testing operations.

[159] In response, vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris, a member of the Government's COVID-19 immunisation implementation advisory group, attributed the incident to errors made during the process of preparing the Pfizer vaccine for use.

[162] On 18 December, 1News and the Otago Daily Times reported that a 26-year old Dunedin man named Rory Nairn had died of vaccine-related myocarditis in November 2021 after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

[164][165] Pathologist Dr Noelyn Hung also testified that test results of Nairn's heart excluded drugs, a virus, bacteria or a rare fungal infection as causes of the myocarditis.

The paper found that far right online communities in New Zealand and abroad were using various social media platforms including Telegram to spread disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines and lockdown policies through the use of memes, emotional testimonies, and Māori motifs and symbols.

[181] In December 2022, the Health and Disability Commissioner found that former Plimmerton general practitioner Dr Matt Shelton had breached standards by sending an unsolicited text message to 600 patients saying he did not support the COVID-19 vaccine and directing them to a website promoting COVID-19 disinformation.

Kelly reversed the Medical Council's suspension of general practitioner Dr. Allison Goodwin, who had posted anti-vaccination videos and signed an open letter challenging the Health Ministry's COVID vaccination policies.

[187] On 4 December, the employee was identified as Barry Young, who appeared at the Wellington District Court on the sole charge of accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes, which carries a maximum seven-year prison sentence.

[203] On 19 September 2022, a group of unvaccinated caregivers represented by lawyer Matthew Hague sought a judicial review of the Government's vaccine mandate for health workers, claiming they had lost thousands of dollars in income.

[204] On 10 March 2023, High Court Judge Van Bohemen ruled that the decision by the-then COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins to extend the vaccine mandate to family carers was invalid.

[214] Later that night, Police were dispatched to Starship Hospital to enforce the High Court's ruling after the parents attempted to prevent medical personnel from preparing Baby W for the heart surgery operation.

[233][234] On 19 January 2022, Tamihere stated that the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency was planning to pursue legal action against the Health Ministry to force the release of data on unvaccinated Māori children between the ages of five and 11 years old.

In response, the Health Ministry's national immunisation programme director Astrid Koornneef stated that previous High Court rulings did not consider the sharing of personal contact information and vaccination status of children.

[227] On 7 March 2022, the Southern District Health Board acknowledged that 1,500 people who had received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in the Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago between 1 December 2021 and 28 January 2022 may not be fully protected since their doses were stored at an incorrect temperature.

In addition, the Medical Council of New Zealand, the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC), Health Ministry, and Police confirmed that they were aware of her posts and conducting their own separate investigations.

Rush also reported that anti-vax medical personnel including osteopaths, homeopaths, general practitioners, physiotherapists, and midwives were issuing bogus vaccine exemption certificates to teaching staff.

[110][109] In early December 2021, it was reported that media broadcaster Newshub had recorded a Kaiapoi–based general practitioner named Dr Jonie Girouard illegally selling medical certificates as exemptions for COVID-19 vaccines.

[259][260] On 12 December, the Medical Council of New Zealand confirmed that they were investigating Girouard's husband Michael while the Health Ministry declined a "Temporary Significant Service Disruption Exemption" from Jonie following media coverage of their activities to enable her to treat patients in person without being vaccinated.

In addition, other health leaders including Midwifery Employee Representation & Advisory Service (MERAS) co-leader Caroline Conroy and University of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris expressed support for reviewing the vaccine mandate requirement for healthcare workers.

[268] On 2 August, National Party COVID-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop called on the Government to lift its vaccine mandate requirement for nurses and health workers in order to address the staffing shortage in the healthcare sector.