Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg said her country may improve vaccination of its oldest and sickest citizens after a recent spike in vaccination-related deaths.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
Having weathered the pandemic better than most countries, Norway suddenly made world news headlines this month after it was revealed that more than 30 people — all over the age of 70 — died shortly after being vaccinated against Covid-19.
Solberg says the intense worldwide interest in this information has been exaggerated.
“We don’t believe there are vaccine safety issues. But we may not be giving them to the most vulnerable elderly people,” the prime minister said.
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, which has identified people over 65 as a priority group to receive the vaccine, urged doctors to vaccinate the old and sick on a case-by-case basis.
“For very frail patients and the terminally ill, a careful evaluation of the balance of benefits and drawbacks of vaccination is recommended,” the institute said.
Read also: More than 20 people vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine died in Norway
The Norwegian drug agency said reporting of adverse reactions has caused unnecessary anxiety worldwide, and it will now only publish data on fatal cases that have been studied in detail.
Other countries, including Germany, have also recorded deaths of people who were recently vaccinated. Finland reported three such deaths on Tuesday, but neither country has found a cause-and-effect relationship.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency says there is still no evidence that the deaths of the elderly have been directly linked to the vaccine.
