Norwegian officials warned on Thursday that people over the age of 80 and terminally ill could be at risk of fatal side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine after the European health agency reported a number of deaths among the elderly who they received inoculation.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency announced in a press release that as of Thursday, the Norwegian health registry has received reports of 23 people dying shortly after receiving the first dose of vaccine.
Of these deaths, 13 were autopsied and revealed that the common side effects associated with the vaccine could have contributed to more severe reactions among frail older people.
The health agency said all deaths occurred among patients in nursing homes who were well over 80 years of age.
Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, said that side effects, such as fever and nausea, “could have contributed to a fatal outcome in some frail patients.. ”
However, the agency also noted that in the country’s vaccination campaign for the elderly, many of whom are in nursing homes with serious underlying conditions, “death is expected to be close to vaccination. ”
According to the agency, an average of 400 Norwegians die every week in old people’s homes and long-term care institutions.
“For those with the most severe fragility, even the relatively mild side effects of the vaccine can have serious consequences,” said the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, according to Bloomberg. “For those who have a very short lifespan anyway, the benefit of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant.”
The warning in Norway about the effects of the vaccine on the elderly is the most severe so far.
Countries around the world have begun implementing mass vaccination campaigns to combat COVID-19, which has infected more than 93 million people globally and killed nearly 2 million worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Last week, USA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccinations are relatively rare. The CDC said that of nearly 2 million people who were vaccinated against COVID-19 over a 10-day period in December, only 21 had severe allergic reactions.
The agency added that most of these people had a history of allergies or allergic reactions, and for the 20 people with whom the CDC followed, all recovered and were sent home.