Lithuania has recorded the deaths of eight seniors with chronic diseases after administration of COVID-19 vaccines, a spokesperson for the Lithuanian State Medicines Control Agency said on Thursday.
Lithuania's immunisation campaign, launched in late December 2020, includes the three vaccines that have the EU regulator's approval, namely the vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca/University of Oxford.
"These were reports of deaths among the elderly. The youngest patient was 69 years old and the oldest was 91. Five women and three men. All registered deaths were linked to the age and chronic diseases of those patients", Rugile Pilviniene told reporters.
The health official listed a few cases of fainting as a result of fever and malaise among the post-vaccination adverse reactions, as well as one case of facial paralysis after the AstraZeneca vaccine.
"We have noticed some unexpected reactions", Pilviniene continued, listing numbness of face, tongue or whole body, high blood pressure, and rapid heartbeat.
With a total of nearly 495,000 administered doses, as of March 31, the Lithuanian watchdog registered 1,742 cases of adverse reactions, including 498 mild and moderate cases and 43 severe cases, according to the official.
Lithuania has so far recorded about 222,000 COVID-19 cases and 3,635 deaths.
