The TGA has declared that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine can be given to the frail elderly but adds that health professionals need to consider individual vulnerability to even mild adverse events.

This follows an investigation into reports of post-vaccination deaths in Norway, including 23 cases of aged care residents who died after receiving the mRNA-based vaccine, Comirnaty.

In mid-January, Norwegian officials were concerned common adverse reactions, including fever and nausea, might have contributed to the deaths of some very frail patients but an investigation by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) found no causal link.

The TGA said on Tuesday it concluded there was “no specific risk of vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in elderly patients”.