Kovar 19 vaccines for its entire population of five million on will begin a free mass immunization program in the middle of next year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Arden said to new deals have been signed of AstraZeneca and Novavax.

She said the government plans to vaccinate border staff and health workers from April, widening it out to the general population in the second half of the year.

Some of the vaccines will also be sent to countries in the Pacific.

Never before has the entire globe sought to vaccinate the entire population at the same time, ours will be a sustained roll out over months, not weeks, but are pre purchase agreements means New Zealand is well positioned to get on with it as soon as it has proven safe to do so.

It marks the end of a good year for Arden has been widely praised by her handling of the pandemic.

New Zealand's economy has also managed to rebound from the hard lock down of March to May grown by a record 14% in the third quarter, according to official figures released on Thursday.