Norway has issued a cautionary tale for the old and terminally ill people who receive the coronavirus vaccine after 23 people in the countries died shortly after getting a shot of the vaccine.
“For those with the most severe vulnerability, even relatively mild side effects from vaccines can have serious consequences,” warned the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. “For those who have a very short remaining lifespan anyway, the benefit of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant.”
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Of the 23 deaths, 13 were autopsied revealing that common side effects may have contributed to reactions in frail and elderly people, the Norwegian Medicines Agency reported.
The warning, Norwegian officials said, does not mean that the elderly or the younger generation should avoid getting vaccinated. It’s just to raise concern and sound a warning sound for the sick and vulnerable people to be careful while being vaccinated against the deadly virus.
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Initial investigations showed that nearly three-quarters of affected people were over 80 years old, the regulator said in his report.
Vaccine manufacturers, FPfizer-BioNtech, are working with the Norwegian regulator to investigate the deaths, claiming that “the number of incidents so far is not alarming and in line with expectations”.
To date, Norway has administered the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to nearly 33,000 people, with priority for frail older people and health professionals. So far, most people have received the Pfizer vaccine and a few others with the comparable dose of Moderna.