Once again the Ministry of Health has quietly updated it’s timeline for vaccinating New Zealanders, this time pushing out the start date for when the majority of Kiwis can begin to be vaccinated, National’s COVID-19 spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

“In late April the Ministry of Health website was updated for when Group Three would be vaccinated to ‘late May’, when previously it was just May.

“The Ministry of Health has done the same to Group Four, where vaccinations will now begin at the ‘end of July’, when just a few days ago it said ‘from July’.

“The Government should be far more up front with New Zealanders about the progress of our vaccination roll out.

“If there are going to be delays, the Government should tell us. Right now it looks more like a surreptitious attempt to hide the fact our vaccination roll out is slow.

“Once again the Government is moving the goal posts. It said we would be at the front of the queue for vaccinations, but then it turns out that the Government meant we would be at the front of the que to sign contracts for vaccines.

“The UK and the US are steaming ahead of New Zealand, and while the rest of the world begins to open up to trade, investment and tourism opportunities, we will be left behind.

“The Government needs to come clean to New Zealanders about the state of our vaccine roll out. Not quietly update its website and hope no one will notice.”