A man accused of dishonestly accessing Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand vaccination data will be bailed tomorrow.
Barry Young, 56, is charged with accessing a computer system for dishonest purposes. He didn't enter a plea when he appeared in the Wellington District Court today.
He was arrested yesterday after the health ministry laid a complaint with police following the alleged "unauthorised disclosure and misuse of data by one of its staff members", chief executive Margie Apa said.
It's alleged the data was published on an overseas website.
Te Whatu Ora said the data appeared to be anonymised. It had been granted an injunction by the Employment Relations Authority preventing publication of the data.
After appearing before Judge Andrew Nicholls this morning, Young was ordered to reappear this afternoon so bail could be discussed. He was granted bail from 1pm tomorrow.
'Extremely concerning' - Health Minister responds
In a statement, Health Minister Shane Reti told 1News while the incident is an "operational and staffing matter for Te Whatu Ora", the allegations are "extremely concerning".
The man's actions have left Te Whatu Ora scrambling to reassure the public the Covid-19 vaccine is safe.
"I have made my expectations clear that it must be treated very seriously," he said.
Reti said he had been briefed on the matter by Apa and her senior leaders, "including over the weekend".
"The security of health data is of utmost importance. I have requested reassurance around the robustness of the health data protection services, and Te Whatu Ora will report back to me on the results of their investigation," he said.
"Any suggestion that health data is being misused or misinterpreted on this scale is extremely concerning."
Reti also requested for support to be made available to the health providers named in the claims.
He continued: "There are many conspiracy theorists out there who unfortunately disseminate harmful disinformation, however as Minister and as a physician, the public can and should continue to have confidence in vaccines.
"I am reassured by experts confirming that there is no evidence supporting the allegations that have been made."
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