COVID-19 vaccine-related deaths and side effects in Norway: What we know
According to the Norwegian Medicines Agency, side effects that are harmless to most people may have contributed to some of the deaths among the patients who received the COVID-10 vaccine vaccine.
Adverse reactions reported in less than .002% of cases
COVID-19 vaccinations have been rolling out in Norway since Christmas.
So far, over 25,000 Norwegians have been vaccinated with the first dose of vaccines from Pfizer and BioNTech. The first dose of the new Moderna vaccine was given on Friday, January 15.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency has assessed 29 adverse reaction reports after the vaccination as of now.
Of the 29 people who experienced adverse reactions, 21 were women and eight were men. 14 were in the age group 80–89 years, and seven were over 90 years old. Four were aged 70-79 years and four were aged 18-69 years.
A total of 23 deaths have been reported shortly after a vaccination, but so far only 13 of these have been confirmed. The other deaths are under assessment.
Vaccine-related deaths happened to people over 80 years old
Those who died from the vaccine were elderly and had poorer health conditions.
Conditions leading to poorer health in these cases can include advanced heart failure, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and other serious diseases.
They were all nursing home patients.
All were 80 years old and some of over 90, according to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK).
Common side effects may be to blame
“The reports may indicate that common side effects from mRNA vaccines, such as fever and nausea, may have led to deaths in some frail patients,” said chief physician Sigurd Hortemo of the Norwegian Medicines Agency.
As a result, both the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) and the Norwegian Medicines Agency have changed the coronary vaccination guide with new advice for this group.
“If you are very frail, you should probably not be vaccinated”, said subject director Steinar Madsen in the Norwegian Medicines Agency at a webinar on corona vaccine for journalists on Thursday.
He emphasized through NRK that these cases are rare, and that many thousands of frail people have been vaccinated without a fatal outcome.
Confirmed adverse reaction reports
The most commonly reported adverse reactions are general symptoms, such as decreased general fever and general malaise, as well as injection site reactions.
Gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, and respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and coughing are also among the most commonly reported side effects.
13 of the reports had a fatal outcome, 9 had serious side effects, and 7 were described as not serious side effects.
This information was revealed in the first report on side effects from the Norwegian Medicines Agency. In future, the public can expect weekly side effect reports.
Source: #Norway Today, #NorwayTodayNews, NTB
