Australian authorities are seeking urgent clarification from their Norwegian counterparts in the wake of disturbing reports that 30 elderly people died shortly after receiving their first shot of the Pfizer vaccine.
Norwegian medical experts have stated they could not rule out a possible link between the side effects of nausea and fever and the subsequent deaths of the patients in question.
The TGA said it received reports of the deaths from over 40,000 elderly individuals in Norway who were vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and released a statement to reassure Australians.
“The deaths were recorded among very frail patients including some which were anticipated to only have weeks or months to live,” the statement read.
The chief vaccine regulator said it will continue to work with European regulators to investigate “any possible adverse risks” associated with COVID-19 vaccines, adding a warning could be added to the Pfizer vaccine label for people who are frail.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently set to be the first coronavirus vaccine released in Australia with 10 million doses on order.
Health Minister Greg Hunt advised Australia will proceed with and “abundance of caution” when it comes to the rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine but indicated “no changes” have been made to the distribution schedule.
