New Zealand man arrested after leaking COVID-19 data
A former employee of New Zealand’s Health Ministry Sunday was arrested and initially denied bail after he leaked government data on COVID-19 vaccinations.
Until last week 56-year-old Barry Young was an Oracle database administrator for the Health Ministry. On Thursday a video was published by journalist and NZ Loyal Party Leader Liz Gunn in which Young revealed the data he had obtained.
On Sunday police arrested Young and charged him with accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose, which carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison.
When Young entered the courtroom for his hearing at Wellington District Court he was greeted by cheers and applause from a public gallery of supporters, reported Newshub. Judge Andrew Nicholls reprimanded the attendees and initially denied Young bail, though he is set to be released on bail Monday afternoon.
Young said he had access to vaccination data because he was tasked with building a payment system through which health providers could receive their financial incentives for vaccinations.
The whistleblower, who Gunn referred to in the video as “Winston Smith” to try to protect his identity, said he found that in 2021 excess mortality shot up to over 120 deaths a day. These deaths continued even after COVID-19 deaths began to peter out to only several per day in Fall 2022, and they persisted through September 30, 2023, the last data Young accessed.
In a typical winter season New Zealand’s average mortality rate has hovered around 0.75%, according to data analysts. But according to a summary of the data provided by Young, at least 10 hospitals, nursing homes, and vaccination sites reported mortality rates between 23% to over 31%. There were other sites, however, which reported death rates under 1%, which prompted Young to look at vaccine batches.
He charted the 10 batches with the highest mortality rates — all manufactured by Pfizer — which showed death ratios between 4.5% to over 21%. Out of 711 people vaccinated from batch 1, for instance, 152 died — a ratio of about 21.38%. Out of 228 people from batch 8, 38 — or 17.19% — died. The lowest on the list was batch 71, which vaccinated 11,019 people, 498 (4.52%) of whom died.
In the video, Young appeared to get emotional as he called the COVID-19 vaccination data “a river of pain.” The whistleblower, who said he is Left-wing and vaccinated, noted more than once that unexplained excess deaths are also showing in other Commonwealth countries like Australia and Britain.
New Zealand’s Te Whatu Ora government has not denied the data's veracity but continues to insist vaccinations are safe.
“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,” Health Minister Shane Reti said in a statement Sunday.
"I am reassured by experts confirming that there is no evidence supporting the allegations that have been made."
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margia Apa said: "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.
"Vaccination is safe and effective, and everyone should keep up to date with their shots to protect themselves, whanau, and their communities. We assure people there is no evidence whatsoever that vaccination is responsible for excess mortality in New Zealand."
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed Young had not revealed anyone’s personal data.
