Australian officials seeking information from Pfizer, Norwegian experts after aged care residents die following coronavirus jab

Health Minister Greg Hunt says Australia is proceeding with an abundance of caution.(AP: Christophe Archambault/Pool Photo)

Australian authorities are seeking more information about one of the COVID-19 vaccines set to be used locally, following a warning from officials in Norway.

There have been a small number of deaths among older people in Norway who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and suffered side effects.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency last week reported a total of 29 people had experienced side effects, including 13 who died.

All the deaths occurred among patients in nursing homes and all were over the age of 80.

Doctors in the Scandinavian country are now being instructed to “carefully consider” who should be vaccinated.

Australia has ordered 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said he had “immediately sought” more details.

“I have been in contact with the Australian medical regulator, the [Therapeutic Goods Administration] TGA, this morning and requested that they seek additional information, both from the company, but also from the Norwegian medical regulator,” he said.

“[Foreign Minister] Marise Payne will task [the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade] DFAT to seek advice directly from the Norwegian Government.

More than 30,000 people have received the first shot of the Pfizer or Moderna coronavirus vaccines in Norway since the end of December.

The country’s medical regulator listed fever and nausea as side effects that may have led to the deaths of some frail patients.