Hon ANDREW LITTLE (Minister of Health): Last week, I announced that the Government will fund a quarter of a million more free flu vaccines for this year's winter campaign to protect our most vulnerable communities and the health system. The efforts of all of us so far have helped prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed with COVID-19 but we know as we prepare to reconnect to the world that we can expect to see more seasonal flu in New Zealand. As a result of funding these additional flu doses, up to 2 million New Zealanders will be eligible for a free flu vaccination in 2022. Vaccinating more people from the flu will save lives, preserve capacity in our hospitals, and is part of our plan to get through the COVID-19 pandemic. The good news is the flu vaccine can be safely administered at the same time as the COVID-19 vaccine, whether that be a booster shot or a paediatric vaccine, so we'll run this campaign alongside the wider COVID-19 vaccine campaign, such as the paediatric and booster vaccinations, to better protect our vulnerable communities from preventable disease.