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NZ to purchase 8.5 million more Pfizer vaccines

New Zealand will buy additional COVID-19 vaccines, developed by Pfizer Inc and Germany’s BioNTech, which will be enough to vaccinate the whole country, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

The government has signed an agreement to buy an extra 8.5 million doses, enough to vaccinate over 4 million people, Ardern said, adding the vaccines were expected to reach the country in the second half of the year.

“This brings our total Pfizer order to 10 million doses or enough for 5 million people to get the two shots needed to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19,” Ardern said in a statement.

The government’s original agreement with Pfizer was for 1.5 million doses, enough to vaccinate 750,000…