Health authorities in Norway say there’s no evidence of a direct link between the recent string of deaths among elderly people inoculated against COVID-19, and the vaccine they received.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency is seeking to address fears that taking the vaccine might be too risky, after 33 people in the country aged 75 and over died following immunisation, according to the agency’s latest figures. All were already seriously ill, it said.
The first Europe-wide safety report on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is due to be published at the end of January.Credit:AP
“Clearly, COVID-19 is far more dangerous to most patients than vaccination,” Steinar Madsen, medical director at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, said by phone on Monday, local time. “We are not alarmed.”
The initial reports from Norway made international headlines as the world looks for early signs of potential side effects from the vaccines.
