European health agencies say no link between COVID vaccines and deaths in region
European health agencies have said there is no evidence to link the deaths of COVID-19 vaccine recipients in the region with coronavirus vaccines.
- World News
- 2 min read
European health agencies have said there is no evidence to link the deaths of COVID-19 vaccine recipients in the region with coronavirus vaccines. Dozens of people across Europe have died soon after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, but health agencies say that there is no evidence to link those deaths with anti-COVID-19 drugs. Health agencies have said that nearly all the people who died after being inoculated were elderly suffering from underlying health conditions.
After 33 people died in Norway post-vaccination, health agencies across the region were alerted, which prompted them to look into the cause of deaths. Despite no formal analysis yet, they have ruled out vaccines as causes of the deaths. Health agencies say that available evidence suggests the deaths could have occurred due to the age of the patients, which made them vulnerable even prior to receiving the jabs because elderly and sick people were kept out of vaccine trials and there was no data on how the drugs would react on them.
Several European countries, including France, Sweden, and Portugal reported deaths among people who have been vaccinated to date. France reported nine deaths, all of whom were elderly patients with prior illnesses. Sweden also reported 13 deaths among recipients, all elderly people. Iceland reported seven deaths with no links to the vaccines. In Portugal a health care worker died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, however, the country's justice ministry said the autopsy report found no direct link to connect it with the vaccine.
EMA asks to monitor deaths
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has said that despite no direct link established with the vaccination, national agencies have been asked to keep a check on the process and update the European agencies, manufacturers, and patients regarding the same. Europe has already approved two vaccines - Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, and a third, from AstraZeneca, is expected to receive EUA by the end of this month.
Published By : Vishal Tiwari
Published On: 24 January 2021 at 20:27 IST