FHI not asked to join new expert group for assessing AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson vaccines
The group that will look at the vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson has no FHI members. It is not a question of a lack of trust, the Ministry of Health pointed out.
Camilla Stoltenberg, director of the National Institute of Public Health (FHI), told newspaper VG that they were not asked to contribute to or participate in the expert group, which will assess the consequences of using or not using the two vaccines in question.
“I perceived that they wanted a broader assessment and that they were primarily critical of the fact that it seemed that we wouldn’t – under any circumstances – open up to the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine again,” Stoltenberg said.
Korkunc: Not a lack of confidence in the FHI
State Secretary Saliba Andreas Korkunc (H) in the Ministry of Health states that the committee will make independent assessments but also draw on FHI’s expertise and assessments.
The State Secretary believes that the decision cannot be perceived as a lack of confidence in the FHI’s assessment.
“Both the FHI’s work and the expert committee’s work will form the basis for the government’s final decision,” Korkunc told VG.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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