Coronavirus: Norway raises concern over Pfizer vaccine jabs for elderly as Australia seeks information

Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine comes into focus as Norway raises death toll and lowers age range of people thought to be affected

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration said it would seek additional information on the vaccine from Pfizer and Norway’s medical regulator

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Svein Andersen, a 67-year-old resident of a care home, was the first person in Norway to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 27. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:17pm, 17 Jan 2021Updated: 10:44am, 18 Jan 2021

Norway has expressed increasing concern about the safety of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on elderly people with serious underlying health conditions after raising an estimate of the number who died after receiving inoculations to 29.

The latest figure adds six to the number of known fatalities in Norway, and lowers the age range of people thought to be affected to 75 from 80. While it’s unclear exactly when the deaths occurred, Norway has given at least one dose to about 42,000 people and focused on those considered most at risk if they contract the virus, including the elderly.

Until Friday, the vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech SE was the only one available in Norway, and “all deaths are thus linked to this vaccine”, the Norwegian Medicines Agency said in a statement on Saturday.

“There are 13 deaths that have been assessed, and we are aware of another 16 deaths that are currently being assessed,” the agency said. All the reported deaths related to “elderly people with serious basic disorders”, it said. “Most people have experienced the expected side effects of the vaccine, such as nausea and vomiting, fever, local reactions at the injection site, and worsening of their underlying condition.”

Official reports of allergic reactions have been rare as governments rush to roll out vaccines to try to contain the global pandemic. US authorities reported 21 cases of severe allergic reactions from December 14-23 after administration of about 1.9 million initial doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The first Europe-wide safety report on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is due to be published at the end of January.

Australia, which has an agreement for 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, is seeking urgent information on the issue from the producer, health authorities and Norway’s government, Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.