Norway says no evidence that Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine increased risk of patients' deaths
Norway's national public health institute said Tuesday that there is currently no correlation between receiving the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and an increased risk of death among 23 people who died after getting the shot.
The deceased were "severely frail patients" who died within six days after vaccination in the Scandinavian country, and the incidents "do not imply a casual relationship between COVID-19 vaccination and death," according to Dr. Sara Viksmoen Watle, chief physician at the Norwegian Institute for Public Health.
"When we vaccinate the eldest and sickest who often have several underlying conditions we expect high mortality in this population. Hence, we also expect deaths following vaccination," Watle said in a statement Tuesday. "We do not yet know if these deaths are due to the vaccine or other causes, but we cannot exclude that common side effects may have led to a more severe course for some patients."
![](https://s.abcnews.com/images/Health/pfizer-biontech-vaccine-file-getty-210_hpEmbed_20210119-093806_11x7_992.jpg)
The Norwegian Medicines Agency and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health are investigating the deaths.
"So far, there are no statistical analyses that indicate that coronavirus vaccination has had an increased risk of death among those vaccinated," Watle said, after noting that the fatal incidents will be examined "in relation to the expected number of deaths among the nursing home population."
"In order to be able to interpret this information, it is important to see the full picture," she added. "Nursing home residents are at very high risk of a severe disease course or dying from COVID-19, and have therefore been prioritised for vaccination. A large proportion of those who live in nursing homes have severe underlying conditions or are in the last stages of life. Life expectancy in nursing homes is relatively short and on average, more than 300 people die in Norwegian nursing homes every week."