Norway had only used the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine until Friday.
Photographer: Jean-Francois Monier / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Jean-Francois Monier / AFP / Getty Images
Health authorities in Norway say there is no evidence of a direct link between the recent series of deaths among elderly people vaccinated against Covid-19 and the vaccine they received.
Norwegian Medicines Agency tries to allay fears taking vaccine could be too risky, after 33 people in the country deprecated According to the latest figures from the agency, 75 years and older died after immunization. They were all already seriously ill, it said.
“It is clear that Covid-19 is much more dangerous for most patients than vaccination,” Steinar Madsen, medical director at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, said by phone Monday. “We are not alarmed.”
What you need to know about vaccine-related deaths, allergies: QuickTake
The first reports from Norway made international headlines as the world searches for early signs of possible side effects from the vaccines. Until Friday, Norway only used the vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, and the companies are now working with the Nordic country to investigate the dead. The first European safety report on the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine will be published at the end of January.
“All of these patients have had serious underlying illnesses,” said Madsen. “We cannot say that people die from the vaccine. We can say it could be a coincidence. It is difficult to prove that the vaccine is the direct cause. “
What Bloomberg Intelligence Says …
“The concept of limiting Covid-19 vaccinations to individuals under the age of 75 is not supported by US data covering more than 14 million vaccinated people, our analysis shows, despite Norway reporting a much higher mortality rate after use. of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The excessive deaths in Norway suggest that these are individuals with serious, uncontrolled diseases.
– Sam Fazeli, Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Industry Analyst
– Click here for the full report
Norway has given at least one dose to about 42,000 people, focusing on those most at risk if they contract the virus, including the elderly. Madsen says it’s possible that in some cases the side effects of immunization could “tip patients into a more serious course of the underlying disease. We can’t rule that out.” He says Norway has already vaccinated all nursing home patients, “more or less “and reported fatalities are” well below 1 in 1,000 “.
Madsen said he does not expect a different result with another vaccine, from Moderna Inc., which was launched in Norway on Friday. Like the Pfizer-BioNTech injection, it uses messenger RNA technology that teaches the body’s cells to fight infection.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency says it has made it clear before the start of the vaccination program that “deaths are expected to occur in a time-related context with vaccination” for the “oldest and sickest” people to be vaccinated.
– With assistance from Stephen Treloar and Naomi Kresge