Norway can improve its vaccination strategy after elderly deaths, says PM

Photographer: Ole Berg-Rusten / AFP / Getty Images

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg says his country could adjust the vaccination of its oldest and sickest citizens as it tries to make sense of a recent period of deaths.

After withstanding the pandemic better than most, Norway suddenly appeared in international headlines this month, after revealing that more than 30 people – over 70 and all already ill – died shortly after vaccination against Covid-19 . Solberg says the intense global interest in news has been “exaggerated” as he tries to ensure that development does not delay people from inoculation.

“We don’t think there’s a problem with vaccine safety,” Solberg said in an interview with Bloomberg Live on Tuesday. “But we may not offer it to the most vulnerable of the elderly, because that could speed up a process that would be what we would say at the end of life anyway,” so “we probably won’t continue to do.”

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, which has identified people over the age of 65 as a priority group in the vaccine launch, has urged doctors to inoculate the elderly and the sick on a case-by-case basis.

“For very frail patients and patients with terminal illnesses, careful balancing of the benefit versus the disadvantage of vaccination is recommended.” said on January 11, before Norway published data on deaths after inoculation.

Unnecessary concern

The Norwegian Medicines Agency said its reporting of side effects has caused unnecessary concern around the world and will now only publish data on deaths that have been autopsied. The agency says its information on the side effects of Covid-19 vaccines will be included in international studies.

Other countries, including Germany, have also reported deaths in people who have recently been vaccinated. Finland reported three such deaths on Tuesday, but none of the countries identified causal links.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency says there is no evidence to date that the reported reported deaths were directly related to the vaccine. “However, it cannot be ruled out that the common side effects of the vaccine, such as fever and nausea, could have contributed to a serious development of the underlying disease in frail patients,” the agency said in a written response to questions. .

Norway is now working with Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE – the first manufacturers to supply it with vaccines – to examine their data in detail. The drug agency in the country told Pfizer that it sees no cause for alarm. The first European safety report on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is due to be published at the end of January.

Meanwhile, the Norwegian government has stressed its confidence in the vaccine. “We try to work hard to focus on the fact that this is not a problem,” Solberg said. “It’s the one I vaccinated, not the vaccine that created this data.”

The Norwegian Medicines Agency reported 292 suspected “adverse reactions” out of 71,971 people who had been vaccinated since 21 January; of these, 104 were examined by health authorities, with 30 deaths reported. The country had inoculated 1.4% of its population since Friday, according to Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker, from Bloomberg. This compares with 3.4% in neighboring Denmark, which is among the most advanced in Europe with its immunization program.

Norway intends to administer secondary vaccine doses without delay, Solberg said. This is in contrast to the UK approach, where he has Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there is high confidence, the first dose provides “decent effectiveness” against the virus.

Solberg spoke with Bloomberg Live before Norway moved to block the Oslo area in an effort to combat the spread of more contagious coronavirus mutations, implementing the strictest measures to date. The prime minister said he hoped Norway would complete vaccination of its most vulnerable citizens by March.

– With the assistance of Lars Erik Taraldsen and Naomi Kresge