Covid-19: after several deaths of vaccinated seniors, Norway opens an investigation
So far, 23 people have died within hours or days of being vaccinated in Norway.
Kenzo Tribouillard AFP / File
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Vaccination against Covid-19 has started in many countries, and most often the elderly are among the priority audiences.
A logical choice - seniors are the most likely to die from this disease.
But this vaccine, which saves thousands of elderly people around the world, could it be dangerous for people who are too old, or too sick?
This is the question that arises in Norway where a series of suspicious deaths, just after vaccination, motivated the launch of an investigation.
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With our correspondent in Stockholm,
Frédéric Faux
There are currently 23 deaths that pose questions to the Norwegian authorities.
Twenty-three very old people - often over 80 - also affected by underlying pathologies, and who died a few hours or days after their vaccination.
According to the first autopsies and analyzes, harmless side effects in most of the vaccinated - such as allergy or fever - could have caused the death of these particularly fragile patients.
In any case, this is the hypothesis on which the Norwegian experts are working in collaboration with the manufacturer Pfizer.
Indeed, like all vaccines, if the one against Covid has been tested during its development on thousands of patients, it has been tested very little on specific audiences such as the very old or children.
Pending the results of the current investigation, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) has decided to change its instructions for the vaccination of the oldest or sickest.
Because "
for those who have a very short remaining lifespan, he
explains
, the benefits of the vaccine may be marginal or irrelevant
."
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Read also: Covid-19: Norway tightens the screw in the face of the threat of a third wave
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