Covid-19 vaccine deaths, allergic reactions: how many died in Norway?

Photographer: Nathan Laine / Bloomberg

Like all new drugs, vaccines authorized to protect against Covid-19 present some safety issues and side effects. Lots of people who have received the first two western shots deployed, one of Pfizer Inc. i BioNTech SE and another of Moderna Inc., has experienced fever, headache and pain at the injection site. These side effects usually go away quickly. More worryingly, Norway has it reported deaths among the elderly with serious health conditions following the administration of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, possibly related to these side effects. Some other recipients of the various blows have had a severe but treatable allergic reaction, called anaphylaxis.

1. What is known about the dead?

Twenty-nine were reported in mid-January among some 40,000 people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Norway, where authorities have prioritized vaccination of residential residents. Those who died were all in the “75++” stretch (exact ages were not given for privacy reasons) and included patients with terminal illnesses who were expected to be only weeks or months old. All deaths that occur within a few days of vaccination are carefully assessed. People close to the time of vaccination are not necessarily because of the shot: an average of According to the Norwegian Medicines Agency, 400 people die every week in residences and long-term care centers. Sigurd Hortemo, the agency’s chief physician, said he cannot rule out that common adverse reactions to the vaccine, such as fever and nausea, could be potentially fatal in patients with serious underlying health problems.

2. Were there any deaths elsewhere?

In Germany, where more than 800,000 people have received the first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Paul Ehrlich Institute has investigated at least seven cases of elderly people dying shortly after vaccination. In his report, he said the deaths were probably due to the cause of the patients. underlying diseases such as carcinomas, kidney deficiencies and Alzheimer’s, not inoculation.

3. What reactions did these fatal cases develop?

The deaths were associated with Norway fever, nausea, and diarrhea: relatively common and short-lived effects that some people may experience after almost any vaccination, according to information from the Australian Therapeutic Administration. (He is working with the European Medicines Agency, which includes Norway, before deciding whether to approve the drug in Australia.) Reactions are not expected to be of significant importance in the vast majority of people. Millions of doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have been administered United States, United Kingdom and some other countries with no deaths have been reported due to the vaccine, said Abrar Chughtai, a professor in the School of Public Health and Community Medicine at the University of New South Wales, at the Australian Science Media Center.

4. What is known about the risks of the vaccine in the elderly and frail?

Not much. Common adverse reactions to non-hazardous vaccines in younger, healthy patients may occur. aggravates the underlying disease in the elderly, Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian agency, told the medical journal BMJ. Only a limited number of people over the age of 85 participated in large clinical trials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the agency said. The average participant in the trial for the two approved Western vaccines was about 50 years old.

5. What is done in response to deaths?

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health has updated its Covid-19 vaccination guide with more detailed advice on vaccinating the elderly who are vulnerable. “We are now asking doctors to continue with vaccination, but to do an additional assessment of very sick people who may aggravate their underlying condition,” Madsen said. The evaluation includes discussing the risks and benefits of vaccination with patients and their families to decide whether or not vaccination is prudent. Separately, neighboring Nordic Finland has recommended the systematic vaccination of patients with terminal illnesses the active treatment (ie those who are being palliated) has stopped. The reason is that common side effects like temporary fever can weaken your condition.

6. What other serious reactions have there been?

The body fights foreign invaders through various mechanisms that include the manufacture of protective proteins called antibodies, the release of toxins that kill microbes, and the control of guard cells to fight infection. As with any conflict, sometimes the effort to repel an infection can be detrimental. In rare cases, it can cause swelling and swelling of the tissues in a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. As much as 5% of the American population has had this reaction to various substances. It can be fatal if, for example, the person’s airway is closed, even if there are deaths. rar. Allergies a insect bites and food can cause it, although it is the pharmacological reactions most common cause of anaphylaxis deaths in the US and UK

7. Where have the Covid-19 vaccine cases been caused?

According to a January 6 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 21 cases of anaphylaxis associated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been confirmed in the country on 23 December. Of these people, 17 had a documented history of allergies and seven had a history of anaphylaxis. A December 19th the CDC presentation referred to two cases in the UK associated with the same vaccine, and a month later in Israel, a man suffered an anaphylactic shock an hour after receiving it, according to the Jerusalem Post. He said he had had previous reactions to penicillin, the newspaper reported. CDC officials say they have also seen the reactions of recipients of the Moderna shooting and that they are collecting data on them.

8. Has anaphylaxis been connected to vaccines before?