Norwegian Medicines Agency: So far, we have received 5,386 reports of possible serious side effects of the corona vaccine

11.2 million vaccine doses have been administered in Norway so far. The Norwegian Medicines Agency has received 56,479 reports of suspected side effects, of which 5,386 are considered serious.

Of the reported possible side effects, 28,899 reports have been processed. And 23,513 reports have been classified as not serious, according to the Norwegian Medicines Agency.

“The fact that a side effect has been reported does not necessarily mean that there is a causal connection with the vaccine. The purpose of the reporting system is to detect what we should investigate further,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency wrote in the press release.

The reports are often related to symptoms and diseases that are quite common in the population, the Agency added.

Serious reports processed first

The most serious reports are dealt with first, which is why the figures give a skewed picture of the distribution between serious and non-serious reports.

“All reports must be processed. We prioritize the serious reports first, so there is still work to be done to process the less serious ones. We also prioritize reports with unusual and unknown symptoms over reports with not very serious and known side effects,” chief physician Ingrid Aas at the Norwegian Medicines Agency noted.

Vaccine status of children and adolescents

On January 14 this year, the vaccination offer in Norway was expanded to include children between the ages of 5 and 11. At the same time, it was opened up for 12-15-year-olds to receive two doses.

As of February 15, more than 461,000 doses have been given to children and young people from 12 to 17 years of age. From December 2020 to February 15, 2021, the Norwegian Medicines Agency has received and processed 468 reports of suspected side effects in this age group. Of these, 68 are classified as serious.

80% of the reports of suspected side effects in this age group are from girls, where a lot of the reports concern menstrual disorders. Most are classified as not very serious.

So far, 4,475 children in the age group 5 to 11 have been vaccinated. In this age group, the Agency has received and processed fewer than five reports of suspected side effects. All are considered insignificant.

Source : © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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