In a major development, as many as 23 people have died in Norway after receiving the first dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and several others have fallen ill soon after the vaccination, triggering Norway to launch a probe into the deaths.

As per Norwegian Medicines Agency’s chief physician Sigurd Hortemo, common reactions to the vaccine like fever and nausea may have resulted in a fatal outcome in some “frail patients”. Of the 23 who have lost lives, 13 were nursing home patients and at least 80-years-old.

However, the Agency’s medical director Steinar Madsen has stated that the agency is not alarmed by this. He said, “It is quite clear that these vaccines have very little risk, with a small exception for the frailest patients.”

Madsen also added, “Doctors must now carefully consider who should be vaccinated. Those who are very frail and at the very end of life can be vaccinated after an individual assessment.” The development comes at a time when more than 30,000 people in Norway have already received the first dosage of COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer or Moderna Inc.