Although five elderly people over the age of 70 died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, there is no data to prove that the vaccine caused the deaths.
On Wednesday, the misleading headline of an evangelical online publication led some Alaskans to believe that five people had died from the vaccine. The article was entitled: ‘At least five Alaskans were killed and 111 suffered adverse reactions after COVID vaccinations.’ Facebook missed the article as an important context because it went viral on social media in Alaska.
“We have no deaths we know of in the country related to the vaccine by COVID-19,” said Dr. State Attorney Anne Zink said during a news conference Thursday.
Reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine are reported in several ways. One is through the national database, Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. This system is designed for providers and patients to report adverse experiences after receiving any form of vaccination. The reports are then examined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff, who look to see if the reaction is related to receiving the vaccine.
“This does not mean that the side effect was caused by the vaccine – it is for the CDC to investigate,” ZInk said.
The database shows five deaths that occurred with Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine recipients, all of whom had multiple medical conditions. Three of the incidents have a note from a provider stating that the death was not related to the vaccine. The remaining two cases do not specify the information.
Two of the five deaths have the cause of death: one 80-year-old man died of chronic respiratory failure and congestive heart failure, and another 73-year-old man died of aspiration pneumonia complicated by end-stage heart failure. Three other cases do not mention the cause of death, but describe the common medical conditions of the elderly – 76, 77 and 100 years old – which include Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and heart failure.
The guidelines for the interpretation of VAERS data warn against drawing conclusions about vaccinations that cause adverse reactions.
“When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that there is no cause-and-effect relationship for any reported event,” the indemnity states. “FATHERS collect data on any adverse events after vaccination, whether accidental or actually caused by a vaccine.”
Contact author Alena Naiden at 459-7587. Follow her at twitter.com/FDNMlocal.