Covid vaccine deaths in Norway rise to 29

OSLO: Norway has registered a total of 29 deaths among people over the age of 75 who’ve had their first Covid-19 vaccination shot.

The latest figure adds six to the number of known fatalities in Norway, and also lowers the age group thought to be affected from 80.

Until Friday, Pfizer-BioNTech was the only vaccine available in Norway, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine”, the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a written response to Bloomberg on Saturday.

“There are 13 deaths that have been assessed, and we are aware of another 16 deaths that are currently being assessed,” the agency said.

All the reported deaths related to “elderly people with serious basic disorders”, it said. “Most people have experienced the expected side effects of the vaccine, such as nausea and vomiting, fever, local reactions at the injection site, and worsening of their underlying condition.”

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health judges that “for those with the most severe frailty, even relatively mild vaccine side effects, can have serious consequences. For those who have a very short remaining life span anyway, the benefit of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant.”

Pfizer and BioNTech are working with the Norwegian regulator to investigate the deaths, Pfizer has said, adding that the agency found “the number of incidents so far is not alarming, and in line with expectations”.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency said that it “has communicated, prior to the vaccination, that when vaccinating the oldest and sickest, it is expected that deaths will occur in a timerelated context with vaccination. This does not mean that there is a causal link between vaccination and death”.