Norway: COVID-19 vaccine has 'no direct link' with post-inoculation deaths

In the aftermath of at least 33 deaths allegedly from the Pfizer’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccination, health authorities in Norway said that "no direct link" had been established between Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine and post-vaccination deaths in the country. The EU nation started the mass vaccination campaign on December 27, and post-immunisation, reports of deaths in the elderly and vulnerable citizens emerged which were being linked to the jabs. The medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency clarified in a statement that while the situation is alarming, only a ‘small exception’ has been noted in the side effects of the Pfizer vaccine that may have caused death. 

In an official release on its website, Statens Legemiddelverk, Norway’s medical agency said, "All reports of deaths after vaccination are carefully considered", adding that at least "33 deaths have been reported in connection with vaccination, and 13 of these have been assessed". The agency stressed that the common side effects may have contributed to a severe course in frail elderly people. "mRNA vaccines tend to cause side effects such as fever and nausea, which may have led to deaths in some weak and frail patients with co-morbidities", Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in the statement. 

Read: Over 3,200 Healthcare Workers Administered COVID Vaccine In Himachal Pradesh

Read: WHO Raises 'concerns' About Mideast Vaccine Inequity

Worsening of 'underlying diseases' 

Norwegian Medicines Agency and the National Institute of Public Health jointly assessed all reports of side effects and found that the deaths were not caused due to the vaccines but due to the health complications in the terminally ill patients, director-general of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health Camilla Stoltenberg stated in a statement. Thus far, the Scandinavian country has inoculated nearly 25,000 citizens with Pfizer Inc’s mRNA [messenger Ribonucleic acid]-based vaccines. Of the deaths analysed, nine serious side effects and seven less serious side effects have been noted,” the Norwegian Medicines Agency (NMA) said. Therefore, the country recommended that the healthcare workers consider the overall health of the weak, most frail persons and comorbidities prior to administering the shot. The NMA report indicated that the jab resulted in the worsening of the underlying diseases and led to a fatal outcome in some frail patients, the vaccine, however, had no direct links with the deaths recorded. 

Read: India To Gift 2 Million Doses Of COVID Vaccine 'Covishield' To Bangladesh On January 20

Read: NY Gov Explores Buying Virus Vaccine Directly From Maker