Norwegian authorities have adjusted their advice on who gets the COVID-19 vaccine after the death of some elderly people and said it is the doctor who decides whether or not a person gets the vaccine.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency reported that 29 people suffered side effects, 13 of them fatal. All deaths occurred in nursing homes and all were over 80 years of age.
Fever and nausea could “have caused the death of some weak patients,” Sigurd Hortemo said in the agency’s first report on side effects.
More than 30,000 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the Scandinavian country since late December, according to official figures.
“We are not alarmed by this. It is quite clear that these vaccines have very little risk, with one small exception in the case of the weakest patients,” the agency’s medical director, Steinar Madsen, told NRK.
“Doctors need to carefully consider who should be vaccinated. Those who are very weak and at the end of their lives may receive the vaccine after an individual assessment,” he added.
Days ago the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said that “any side effects of the vaccine will be offset by a reduced risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 in the case of frail elderly people.”
He added that “for very weak patients and terminally ill patients a careful assessment of the benefits against the disadvantages of vaccination is recommended.”
The Norwegian Medicines Agency said in its report that 21 to eight men suffered side effects. Nine experienced non-fatal serious side effects and seven other less serious side effects. All nine suffered from allergic reactions, severe malaise and high fever, while the less severe effects were pain at the injection site.
Norway has reported a total of 57,279 cases and 511 deaths.