That task is due to become easier this morning when an extra 250,000 Pfizer vaccines are due to arrive from Spain, followed by an even larger shipment due next week from a different country.
The extra supplies are in addition to the 10million originally bought directly from Pfizer.
University of Auckland Immunisation Advisory Centre director Prof Nikki Turner said the extra vaccinations meant New Zealand could now keep up with the surging demand that had been created since Delta arrived in the country.
"We really have the wind in our sails now.
"It would really have been disappointing if we had to put the brakes on the programme now, as it has such momentum."
The extra supplies mean the rollout, which has been operating at close to double the original plan since the outbreak, will not need to slow before the largest shipments — about fourmillion doses — arrive next month.
Prof Turner said achieving the highest rates possible of vaccination was "absolutely critical" to any plans to start reopening the borders.
She said border reopening would inevitably result in more infections in the community, so having high vaccination rates would reduce the impacts of the virus and the demand on emergency services.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern yesterday rejected any suggestions that a plan to reopen the border next year, announced just before the country went into lockdown, was now in question due to the current outbreak.
That plan opens up certain travel options for fully vaccinated people, while those unvaccinated would still need to go through managed isolation and quarantine.
Travel options for those without vaccinations is looking to become increasingly limited — Qantas yesterday announced it would only allow people who had had both jabs to fly.
Opposition parties National and Act New Zealand have welcomed the news of extra vaccine supplies, but yesterday questioned why such a deal and scale-up of the rollout could not have occurred sooner
Ms Ardern said the deal with Spain was a straight purchase, with no swaps involved as other countries had negotiated.
While she would not reveal the price, she said it came with "no premium" compared with buying direct from Pfizer.
The extra doses were needed because of an unexpected surge in demand for vaccinations following the recent Delta outbreak, which Ms Ardern said they did not want to see slide.
Up to yesterday, 33% of eligible people in New Zealand were fully vaccinated, and 64% had one dose.
There were 13 community cases announced yesterday, all in Auckland, and continuing a downward trend over the past several days.
It is still full steam ahead for vaccinations in Otago and Southland, the Southern District Health Board said yesterday.
Some concerns had been expressed about whether the SDHB, which had to slow its vaccination rate earlier in the rollout due to nationwide supply issues, might again need to hit the brakes due to strong demand since Level 4 was declared.
SDHB vaccine rollout incident controller Hamish Brown said no providers had been asked to slow their rate of injecting.
"The programme has significantly ramped up in recent weeks, and surpassed 300,000 vaccines over the weekend," he said.
At 4pm on Wednesday, 313,223 doses of the vaccine had been delivered.
"That means 71% of the population over 12 has had at least one dose of the vaccine and 35.9% are fully vaccinated," Mr Brown said.
— The New Zealand Herald/Additional reporting Otago Daily Times
