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Withstanding the pandemic better than most other countries, Norway suddenly made the headlines in January this year, revealing that more than 30 people, over 70 and already suffering from a chronic illness, had died shortly after being vaccinated. against Covid-19.
Solberg says a huge global interest in the news has been inflated in an effort to ensure that the incident doesn’t deter people from getting vaccinated.
“We don’t think there is any problem with vaccine safety,” Solberg said in an interview with Bloomberg Live on Wednesday.
“But maybe we won’t assign them to the most vulnerable elderly, because the vaccine could have sped up the process if they were, in any case, in the last phase of life, so to speak,” so we probably won. “Don’t ever. do, “he said.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, which has identified a group of people over 65 as a priority in the vaccination process, has urged doctors to vaccinate the elderly and sick on a case-by-case basis.
“In the case of extremely frail and incurable patients, a careful assessment of the potential benefits and harms of vaccination is recommended,” the institute said on January 11, before Norway published data on deaths after vaccination.
Unreasonable concern
The Norwegian Medicines Agency says their reports of adverse reactions have caused unfounded concern around the world and now promise to publish data only on deaths after autopsy.
According to the agency, your information on the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines will be included in international studies.
Other countries, including Germany, have also reported deaths of older people who were recently vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Finland reported three such deaths on Tuesday, but neither country found a causal link.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency states that there is no evidence yet that these deaths in the elderly are directly related to the vaccine. “However, it cannot be ruled out that the common side effects of the vaccine, such as fever and nausea, may have contributed to the exacerbation of the underlying disease in frail patients,” the agency said in a written response to questions.
Norway is currently working with Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE, the first manufacturers to supply the country with vaccines, to investigate the causes of death in more detail.
The country’s Medicines Agency said manufacturers of Pfizer saw no cause for concern. Pfizer-BioNTech’s first pan-European safety report is expected to be published in late January.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian government has emphasized its confidence in the vaccine. The Norwegian Medicines Agency reported on January 21. data on about 292 suspected “side effects” in vaccinated people (a total of 71,971 people were vaccinated); of these, 104 were inspected by health authorities, including 30 deaths. By Friday, the country had vaccinated 1.4 percent. its population, Bloomberg announces the Covid-19 vaccine tracker.
At the time, neighboring Denmark, which is the most advanced in Europe in terms of its immunization program, had a similar rate of 3.4 percent.
Norway plans to receive a second dose of the vaccine immediately, Solberg said. This approach differs from that of the UK, where Health Secretary Matt Hancock has stated that there is great confidence that the first dose provides “adequate efficacy” against the virus.
Solberg spoke with Bloomberg Live even before Norway introduced quarantine in ten municipalities in the Oslo region, the strictest containment measures to date, in an effort to control the spread of the most contagious coronavirus mutations.
The country’s prime minister expressed hope that Norway will complete the vaccination of its most vulnerable citizens in March.
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