There have been recent reports from Norway of over 30 deaths out of the 40,000 elderly people who have been vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The deaths were associated with fever, nausea and diarrhoea following vaccination. Adverse events following immunisation like these are expected following this vaccine and are usually short-lived. The recorded deaths were in very frail patients whose life expectancy was weeks to months.
The TGA is working closely with European regulators to investigate these reports further and will determine whether product information for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine should include warnings about risks to frail, elderly or terminally ill people.
Read more in the TGA’s statement via the link below:
TGA: Norwegian investigation of COVID-19 vaccination risks for elderly, very frail patients