Officials in Norway warned on Thursday that people over the age of 80 and terminally ill could threaten the fatal side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine after the European Union’s health agency reported a series of deaths among vaccinated seniors.
The Norwegian Medicines Agency has announced in a press release that the Norwegian health register had received reports from Thursday of 23 people who died shortly after receiving their first dose of the vaccine.
Of the deaths, there are 13 autopsies and this revealed that the common side effects associated with the vaccine contributed to worse reactions among debilitated elderly people.
The health agency said all the deaths occurred among patients in nursing homes who were older than 80.
Sigurd Hortemo, chief physician at the Norwegian Medicines Agency, said side effects such as fever and nausea “may have contributed to a fatal outcome in some debilitated 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, ‘deaths are expected to occur near vaccination. ”
According to the agency, an average of 400 Norwegians die each week in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
“For those with the worst fragility, even relatively mild side effects from vaccines can have serious consequences,” the Norwegian Institute of Public Health said. Bloomberg. “For those who have a very short remaining lifespan anyway, the benefit of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant.”
Norway’s warning about the effects of the vaccine on the elderly is so far the worst.
Countries around the world have begun mass vaccination campaigns to combat COVID-19, which has infected more than 93 million people worldwide and killed nearly 2 million worldwide, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccinations are relatively rare. The CDC said that of only two million people vaccinated against COVID-19 during ten days in December, only 21 people experienced severe allergic reactions.
The agency added that most of the people had a history of allergies or allergic reactions, and for the 20 people who followed up on the CDC, all recovered and were sent home.