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Norway paying victims of swine flu vaccine

Norwegian authorities have so far received 93 compensation requests from people who claim to have suffered serious side effects from the swine flu vaccine widely administered amid a global outbreak of the virus in 2009.

Published: 17 February 2012 10:15 CET
Updated: 17 February 2012 14:57 CET

Norway paying victims of swine flu vaccine

Photo: Marit Hommedal/Scanpix (File)

Among the claimants are six adults and 30 children who say they developed narcolepsy after receiving the Pandemrix vaccine, newspaper VG reports.

Six children diagnosed with the sleep disorder have already had their claims for damages approved by the Norwegian System of Compensation for Injuries to Patients (NPE).

“These are quite serious injuries. You can just imagine how serious it is for children who have lost all strength in one or several muscle groups and fall asleep without warning almost regardless of what they’re doing,” said NPE spokeswoman Torill Svoldal Stæhr.

She said the NPE was now working to establish adequate levels of compensation.

“It’s going to vary depending on the scope of the children’s injuries,” she told VG.

Four adults who took the vaccine have received damages for injuries not related to narcolepsy.

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Denmark to rebuild border fence due to wild animal deaths

Wild boar crossing a street in Poland. File photo: Agencja Gazeta/Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix

A number of wild animals have become unintended casualties after becoming stuck on the fence. A new type of wire mesh will be installed to prevent future occurrences, Jyllands-Posten reports.

The section of fencing to be replaced is 2.5 kilometres long, the newspaper writes.

While the new fencing must continue to keep wild boar out of Denmark, it must also ensure that other animals such as deer do not stuck on the fence and netting, which can result in a slow and painful death.

The Danish Nature Agency (Naturstyrelsen) is responsible for the purchase of the new fencing. An initial 600 metres will initially be installed near the Frøslev Mose nature area, where the number of animals is highest, environment minister Lea Wermelin said in a parliamentary committee response.

The remaining 1,900 meters of new fence will be stored and can be added to other stretches in consultation with local citizens and hunters, Jyllands-Posten writes.

The overall aim of the measure is to allow “legal” animals to pass while continuing to block the path of wild boar.

Nature Agency forest official Bent Rasmussen told local media Jydske Vestkysten that three dead animals, all types of deer, have so far been found in the fence.

“Compared to other fencing systems across Denmark, that's not so bad at all,” Rasmussen said, while also recognizing the need to prevent more deaths.

“It is a disaster for the individual animal. And none of us think it’s not terrible to see the pictures of animals hanging in that way,” he said.

The 70-kilometre fence was erected last year as a measure against the spread of swine flu, at a cost of 45 million kroner, less than initially projected. The update is expected to cost 200,000 kroner.

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