Christel Yardley/Stuff
Legal action has been taken against a Te Whatu Ora employee who is accused of misusing data to spread misinformation.
Police have confirmed a health worker has been arrested for allegedly misusing and disclosing vaccination data.
He has been charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes and will appear in the Wellington District Court on Monday, December 4.
Te Whatu Ora have confirmed the employee has since been removed, a police complaint has been laid and an employment investigation is underway.
Margie Apa, Chief Executive of Te Whatu Ora said the individual had worked in the health system for a number of years, and was authorised to access data as part of his work.
“From what we have established to date, the individual downloaded a large amount of vaccine related information. We are still working to confirm the full extent of this activity,” she said.
“The data, as published on an overseas site, appears to have been anonymised. Analysis of the released data is ongoing, but work so far has not found any National Health Index Numbers or personally identifiable information.”
Apa said an injunction had been granted by the Employment Relations Authority that prevents any publication of the data.
“We have already used the injunction to have information taken down from an overseas website and cybersecurity specialists are continuing to scan extensively for any other places where the information may appear.”
Vicktoria Johnson/Stuff
Margie Apa, Chief Executive of Te Whatu Ora said the individual had worked in the health system for a number of years,
”What this individual is trying to claim about vaccines is completely wrong and ill-informed and their comments demonstrate this. The person has no clinical background or expert vaccine knowledge and appears to be trying to spread misinformation,” Apa said.
”We assure people there is no evidence whatsoever that vaccination is responsible for excess mortality in New Zealand.”
Stuff understands the alleged misinformation centred around the number of vaccine-related deaths.
In New Zealand, there have been four deaths linked to the Covid-19 vaccination since it was rolled out.
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