Vaccination observation period changes to 15 minutes

The Government has today announced a change in post-vaccination observation period. It is now a minimum of 15 minutes instead of 20 minutes.

The COVID Immunisation Register (CIR) has been updated to reflect this. The change is intended to support the vaccination roll-out to stay on track as we move through alert levels, while maintaining patient safety and without putting additional pressure on the workforce to keep clinics open longer.

Other countries also use a minimum 15-minute observation time in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, such as the United Kingdom and United States.

There are still some people who may require a longer observation time, for example those who have had a previous reaction to vaccines, such as anaphylaxis. For more information please refer to the Ministry of Health's COVID-19 vaccine operating guidelines.