Australia Allows Pfizer Vaccine For All Ages

Australian regulators have decided to place no upper age limit on use of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine despite reports of dozens of deaths among the elderly in Norway.

Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration said in a statement Tuesday that it received reports on January 14 of about 30 deaths in more than 40,000 elderly people vaccinated with Pfizer. But it added that “no causal link between vaccination and deaths could be established.” The agency says that “elderly patients can receive this vaccine and there is no cap on the upper age limit.”

The regulator last month gave provisional approval for the use of the Pfizer vaccine in Australia and the first doses are due to be administered to people aged 16 and older in late February.