Messages questioning the current increase in coronavirus deaths in Britain and asking whether masks and vaccinations should be blamed are shared on social media. There is no evidence to suggest that these two factors exacerbated the deaths of COVID-19 in the country.
One such report with the claim can be seen (here). The report contains a graph that charts the number of deaths in the UK during the course of the pandemic.
A selection of important events – such as when exclusions were turned on and when masks became mandatory – are indicated on the timeline.
The graph shows that deaths have continued to increase since October. This happened despite two blockages, masks that became mandatory, and the start of vaccination of vaccines.
The message points to the current point of death and asks, “WHY are we here, when barriers work, when masks work, when social distance works, when the new vaccine works?”
“Something is clearly not working. The biggest common denominators are the constant use of masks and the vaccine. ”
Reuters fact-checking earlier dismissed the claim that mask mandates are responsible for an increase in coronavirus cases (here).
In addition, the graph is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are ineffective or in any way responsible for increased mortality.
After vaccination, the body takes several weeks to build up immunity, and both the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines require two doses before they provide maximum protection.
At the time of writing, more than six million people in the UK received the first dose of one of the vaccines, but only 400,000 received the second (here).
With most of those vaccinated having only partial protection, it is too early to experience the impact of the vaccination.
The recent increase in infections and deaths is due at least in part to the new variant of the coronavirus, which is thought to be at least 70% more transmissible.
Some scientists believe that it can also be more deadly than other variants (here).
These traits have made the virus more difficult to control, even using restrictions (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. Scientific evidence suggests that masks may reduce the spread of the coronavirus, and not promote its transmission. Vaccination began in the UK, but at the time of publication only 400,000 people had the full two doses to achieve the best effectiveness. There is no evidence to suggest that masks and vaccinations are responsible for the current increase in COVID-19 deaths in the UK.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.