A Facebook message suggested that the increase in COVID-19 deaths in Britain was caused by the coronavirus vaccine rather than by the virus itself. It is not true.
The message (here) is shared hundreds of times and contains two graphs charting the trajectory of COVID-19 deaths in the UK.
It appears that deaths are increasing in line with the introduction of the coronavirus vaccine, which started on 8 December.
“Old people are locked up in the care homes, staff are tested 3 TIMES a week to get everything clear before they can work to stop the transfer, BUT we have an increase in DEATH … look … have been rolled out and look at the statistics and then draw your conclusion ….. ”, reads the caption of the post.
The report also includes a snapshot of a headline from the Telegraph newspaper, entitled: “The government is saving £ 600 million on state pension payments as Covid deaths increase”. Comments on the report suggest that some users saw it as a sign that deaths could be part of a government money-saving plan.
However, evidence does not support the idea that the current spate of deaths is in any way related to the delivery of the vaccine.
A new variant of the coronavirus was identified in England in mid-December and is reported to be up to 70% more transmissible than other variants.
Some scientists believe that it may also have a higher mortality rate here.
This has led to restrictions such as locks being less effective in controlling the virus, leading to an increasing number of cases.
The implication that the vaccine itself is dangerous, or that it is designed to kill the elderly, is false.
Vaccinations are done through rigorous safety tests and are given to thousands of volunteers before they are licensed for use (here).
Once the vaccine has been approved for use, its safety is constantly monitored.
In the UK, the safety of vaccines is monitored by the Regulatory Agency (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. The current increase in COVID-19 deaths in the UK is not related to the deployment of vaccines. Scientists believe that a more transmissible strain of the virus explains the recent strong increase in cases and associated deaths.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work here.