Vaccinating Kiwi teens is expected to bolster New Zealand's defence against Covid-19

Rolling-out the Pfizer jab for 12 to 15-year-olds has been approved by Medsafe and is pending sign-off from Cabinet.

The Immunisation Advisory Centre's Director says the main focus right now must be jabbing high-risk adults.

But Nikki Turner says immunising teens toward the end of the programme will be useful.

She says it's unlikely we will achieve herd immunity - but we can vaccinate as many people as possible - so when the virus arrives it can't transmit widely.