UPDATE: People aged 65 and over, and those with underlying medical conditions in South Auckland will start to recieve the Covid-19 vaccine at the end of March.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins made the announcement this afternoon.

He says the rest of New Zealand's at risk group will start to get their vaccines from May.

A targeted rollout is planned for the next three to four months, with the aim to rerach two million Kiwis in the most at risk groups.

'The Ministry of Health is working with Pfizer on a delivery schedule to ensure a smooth rollout and a scaling up of our vaccination programme," says Hipkins

'More than two million New Zealanders are in line to start receiving the vaccine over the next four months with a focus on protecting those most at risk of getting the virus or being harmed by it, while also reducing the chance of ongoing spread and future outbreaks.

'Our plan is clear – first protect those most at risk of picking up the virus in their workplace, reducing the risk of future outbreaks and lockdowns and then protecting those most at risk of getting seriously ill if they get the virus.

'Our sequencing plan provides certainty to the more than two million Kiwis who can expect to start being vaccinated during the initial stages of our roll-out over the next 3-4 months.

"This is a balanced plan that prioritises reducing the chance of future outbreaks while protecting our elders, those with underlying health conditions and those who live in locations where we know outbreaks have occurred.

'We are asking all New Zealanders to get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated is the best way to protect your whānau, their lives and their livelihoods."

A fourth batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine arrived in New Zealand yesterday afternoon, a total of 64,000.

There is now a total of 265,000 doses of the vaccine, enough to inocculate 132,000 people so far.

There are four main groups (timings will overlap, and dates might shift slightly as the Ministry continues to undertake modelling):

Group 1

NZ's 50,000 border and MIQ workers, their household contacts and the people they live with. This started last month and the vast bulk will be completed this month, with at least one dose administered.

Group 2

About 480,000 frontline workers and people living in high-risk settings. Starting with the 57,000 healthcare workers on community frontlines, and then moving through to healthcare workers protecting our most vulnerable and some priority populations. This started in February and will continue through to May.

Group 3

Priority populations. About 1.7 million people who are at higher risk if they catch COVID-19. This is planned to start in May.

Group 4

The remainder of the general population – about two million people. Starting from July.

'About 40,000 courses are being allocated to Māori and Pacific providers who are working directly with older people, and we are also recognising the special circumstances of South Auckland,” says Hipkins.

'Anyone who lives in the Counties Manukau DHB area who is 65 and older or who has an underlying health condition is also in Group 2. This recognises that there are many border operations and MIQ facilities and their workforces based in this area.

Hipkins says there will be a range of options to make it as easy as possible for people to access to the vaccine.

'Workers and residents of long-term residential care environments will get the vaccine at their workplace. There will also be Māori and Pacific providers, pop-up centres, GPs, medical and hauora centres, community clinics and larger scale events.

'An online tool that helps people find out when they can get the vaccine will be launched shortly. It describes the four broad groups and will take people through a series of questions to work out when it'll be their turn,” says Hipkins.

'There are two further categories we are still looking at: one for people who may need to get a vaccine on compassionate grounds; and a national significance category, which could include groups who need a vaccine in order to represent New Zealand overseas.

'Decisions around these categories will be made at Cabinet in coming weeks.”

EARLIER:

The Minister for Covid-19 Response, Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, are providing an update to the media about Covid in New Zealand.

SunLive will provide an update throughout the afternoon for those who are not able to tune into the livestream above.

What we know so far:

On Tuesday, there were four new positive cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation to report today.

One of the four is historical and deemed not infectious.

A statement from the Ministry of Health says there are no new cases in the community.

March air crew case

Contacts of the air crew member who tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday are being advised by public health staff of the steps they need to take.

"This case has a limited number of contacts and is considered to have been infectious while Auckland was in Alert Level 3. Therefore, the wider public health risk is low," says the MOH.

"All test results received from the air crew have returned negative results, with one still outstanding. More than half the remaining contacts have returned negative tests and all 35 contacts from the vaccination centre have been contacted and given public health advice.

"The crew member remains in Auckland's quarantine facility. Their household contacts have tested negative and remain in isolation at home as a precaution.

"Whole genome sequencing of the air crew member has identified the B.1.1.317 variant of the virus. Unlike other variants, including those first identified in the UK and South Africa, this variant is not currently classified as a variant of concern.

"As always, at this stage in the investigation, a range of possible infection sources are being looked into."