Aus to go ahead with Pfizer vaccine despite reported deaths

Canberra, Jan 19 A top adviser to the Australian government has said that the country is likely to go ahead with the Pfizer vaccine despite the deaths of 29 elderly Norwegian patients, who lost their lives following inoculation.

Allen Cheng, the co-chair of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), said that authorities were expecting approximately one out of every 100,000 Austral to have an allergic reaction to vaccines but that they would protect the most vulnerable people, reports Xinhua news agency.

"That means we will need to prepare for that," he told Nine Entertainment newspapers on Monday.

"There will be people that do get the infection despite having the vaccination, but the idea is that it reduces the risk (of catching the coronavirus). It may not eliminate it completely, but it will reduce it."

The ATAGI has been advising Health Minister Greg Hunt on the prioritisation, safety, distribution and monitoring of Covid-19 vaccines ahead of the beginning of Australia's inoculation program in February.

Cheng said the plan to vaccinate aged care residents with Pfizer's vaccine would likely go ahead despite 30 elderly people in Norway dying after receiving it.

In a separate interview with News Corp Australia, Cheng described the attainment of herd immunity as a "long-term goal" that could involve Austral being immunized multiple times.

"We're going for protection to start with; we want to stop people getting sick and dying," he said.

"That will mean that we will give the vaccine firstly to people who are at the highest risk of getting sick and dying."

( With inputs from IANS )