Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said he had "immediately sought" more details after reports from Norway indicated that 13 people have died due to side effects of the Pfizer vaccine, ABC reported.
"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.”
"We're proceeding with an abundance of caution."
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.
Rollout timeframes for the Pfizer jab in Australia have not changed in light of the Norwegian reports
MAH/PR