On Monday, the Southern District Health Board revealed vaccines administered by Queenstown provider Engage Safety between December 1 last year and January 28 this year may not have provided any protection from Covid-19 due to an issue with the ultra-cold temperatures the vaccine has to be stored at.
In total, 1571 people - primarily Queenstown residents - have been affected.
Those vaccines were administered at a variety of locations, including at a pop-up booster clinic held at Queenstown Airport in December.
In a statement on Monday, Engage Safety director Debbie Swain-Rewi said the issue was detected during an audit last week.
‘‘I want to say how very sorry I am for the inconvenience and upset caused to all the people affected by this.
‘‘I have a long history in healthcare in the Queenstown Lakes area... this issue has never happened before and I am fully supporting the SDHB’s investigation into the matter.’’
Engage Safety has stopped providing vaccinations until an independent investigation has been completed.
Health board staff are notifying people who had received the compromised vaccine - anyone with concerns could have a fully-funded GP consultation.
In conjunction with Mountain Lakes Medical Centre and Te Kaika, the airport is holding a pop-up drive-through vaccine clinic at the Brookes Rd car park - formerly the park-and-ride - behind Mitre 10 in Queenstown.
The clinic is open to all eligible age groups in the wider community for first, second and booster shots.
Those affected by the December pop-up clinic vaccines will be given access to a priority lane after they advise staff they need a replacement vaccine.
The clinic will run from 11am to 7pm both days.
