With the spread of coronavirus vaccines around the world, all eyes are on those who have already been stung.
For those who do not read the headlines, a relevant story appears: ‘Fifteen deaths after vaccination against coronavirus’, ‘Deaths at care center after vaccination against coronavirus’, ‘Volunteer in vaccine trial dies after COVID-19 vaccine.’
In both cases, there is more to the story than meets the eye. DW examined several cases in Germany, Spain, the United States, Norway, Belgium and Peru and found that experts from various health authorities could not find any causal link between the vaccination and deaths in all cases.
According to publication, at least 37 million coronavirus vaccines have been administered in these countries, according to Bloomberg’s worldwide vaccine detection. In those countries, the total number of reported deaths that occurred after vaccination is about 350. Because U.S. data includes user-submitted information, at least 181 of these cases were not independently verified.
Germany: ‘Coronavirus Vaccination Deaths’
The Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), which is responsible for vaccination in Germany, has investigated 113 deaths in the country. In all these cases, those who died ranged in age from 79 to 93 years and died between one hour and 19 days after receiving the vaccine. Of the 113, 20 died as a result of the COVID-19 infection (19 of them did not have full vaccination protection; the other case is still unclear). According to Brigitte Keller-Stanislawski, head of the PEI’s department of safety for medical products, 43 people have died as a result of existing conditions.
“Based on the data we have, we assume that the patients died of their underlying disease – in a coincidental time with the vaccination,” she told the German broadcaster n-tv. Although she did not comment on individual cases, she said: “These were very sick patients with many underlying diseases.”
“If elderly or people with severe pre-existing conditions are vaccinated, there will be a certain number of accidental deaths that occur shortly after vaccination, which are not causally related to the vaccination. In its latest safety report, the Paul Ehrlich Institute highlights the cases of 20 vaccinated individuals who died in the vicinity of COVID-19 disease.
A spokesman for the press said in an email to DW that “all but one man had incomplete vaccination protection as the COVID-19 disease occurred after the first vaccination. The protection starts seven to 14 days after the second vaccination (depending on the vaccine) It is possible to become ill and die from COVID-19 after receiving only the first dose 33 Individuals with multiple pre-existing conditions either suffer from the worsening of their underlying disease or from another disease that “independent of vaccination. Ten individuals died of another infectious disease, not COVID-19.”
“In all other persons, in some cases there were multiple previous illnesses such as carcinoma, renal failure, heart disease and arteriosclerotic changes, which were presumably the cause of death,” she added. In 50 cases, the cause of death remains unknown.
According to calculations by the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut in this report, the deaths with an unclear cause reported on 31.01.2021 are no more frequent than the expected number of deaths.
In Germany, the BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are used.
Spain: ‘At least seven die in care after getting Pfizer COVID-19 jab’
Spanish media report that nine people died in a Spanish nursing home after receiving the first dose of BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine, all of whom had previously contracted diseases.
The reported deaths in a Spanish nursing home are attributed to complications due to COVID-19 infections
The director of the residence for the elderly in El Salvador in Lagartera said that symptoms such as headaches or occasional diarrhea began to appear in residents after five days, and a doctor told him it could be due to side effects of the vaccinations.
All nine deaths are attributed to complications with COVID-19 infection due to an outbreak that occurred while the vaccination schedule was in progress.
The manager of the care home said: “The vaccine will protect you, infections do not occur at the first vaccination.”
Even after a vaccination, it is possible to develop the disease if the vaccination took place during the incubation period of the coronavirus (5-6 days). According to the Robert Koch Institute of Infectious Diseases (SCI), it is also possible to become infected after vaccination, as it usually takes effect 10-14 days after the first dose.
Both Russian and Chinese state media have reported extensively on this issue, with the latter mentioning the former.
Despite the striking headline, the original article from the Russian state media clearly states: “There is currently no indication that the vaccine played a role in the deaths.”
It refers readers to a fact check in which it is stated: “It is statistically inevitable that some people will get sick and die after receiving the shot, for reasons unrelated to their body’s response to the vaccine. ” This indemnity is missing from those who repeated the article.
US: ‘Government database shows 181 deaths after COVID-19 vaccine’
This allegation is widely reported in India and is based on a press release by Children’s Health Defense, an anti – vaccination group led by prominent anti-waxer Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and known for its manufacture of misinformation about vaccines and anti-vaccine propaganda. .
Although the headline claims that data comes from a ‘government database’, the figures linked to it are on the website of the National Vaccine Information Center, an organization run by science, technology and “the strongest anti-vaccine organization in America” described. public health journalist Michael Specter.
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) further claims that the data is obtained from the U.S. government’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which explicitly states “anyone can submit a report to VAERS, including parents and patients,” and that “VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine whether a vaccine has caused or contributed to an adverse event or disease.”
Furthermore, VAERS encourages vaccine providers to report significant health problems “whether they believe the vaccine was the cause”, and denies that its data can not be interpreted or used to draw conclusions about its existence, severity, frequency or rate of problems. related to vaccines “and” should be interpreted in the context of other scientific information. “
As early as 2015, a study assessing the claims of deaths due to vaccinations, that the data from the VAERS system are skewed, as it is a system that accepts a submitted report of an adverse event without compromising its clinical significance. to assess whether it was caused by a vaccination. ‘The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also warns against reporting bias and inconsistent data quality in the VAERS system.
However, the NVIC also requests reports via its own website in the same basic format as the VAERS report. It does not determine whether the two data sets in their database are combined or kept separate.
Norway: ’30 people die in nursing homes after coronavirus vaccination ‘
The Norwegian Medicines Agency says there is no link between deaths in a nursing home and the vaccine.
On 26 January 2021, the Norwegian Medicines Agency, Statens Legemiddelverk, investigated a total of 33 reports of deaths in old age homes after vaccination of residents.
In a subsequent analysis, the agency writes “many of the residents of the nursing home who have been vaccinated so far are very debilitated or terminally ill patients. Every day, an average of 45 people die in Norwegian nursing homes or other similar institutions. Therefore, deaths close to the time of vaccination is expected, but this does not imply a causal link with the vaccine. ‘
The European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment (PRAC) Committee also examined the cases and said in a report that ‘the review did not reveal any concerns regarding safety’, and that a number of existing diseases were a likely explanation for In some individuals, palliative care was started even before vaccination. ‘
In assessing the cases, Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency, quoted an article in the peer-reviewed medical journal of the British Medical Association: “There is no certain link between these deaths and the vaccine.” Instead, Madsen said that “general adverse reactions, which are not dangerous in fitter, younger patients and which are not uncommon with vaccines, can exacerbate the underlying disease in the elderly.”
“We are not worried or worried about this because it is very rare and it occurs in very debilitated patients with a very serious illness,” he said.
Belgium: ‘Fourteen deaths after coronavirus vaccination’
In Belgium, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) reported that 14 people died after being vaccinated against the coronavirus. However, no causality was found.
All patients were older than 70 and five older than 90 Brussels Times report. Further details of the individuals who died were not disclosed.
“The fact that the reported deaths do not present a general clinical picture is a fairly reassuring element, as well as the fact that the deaths occurred after a varying period of time,” the FAMHP told the Brussels Times, adding “to date no causal link has been formally found” with the COVID-19 vaccine.
As a result, the FAMHP has published weekly reports investigating the side effects of vaccines. The February 4 report has so far set out a formal causal link with the COVID-19 vaccine. ‘
Although the exact vaccinations are not specified in these cases, Belgium releases the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines.
Peru: ‘Vaccine volunteer dies of COVID-19 pneumonia’
A volunteer (not pictured above) in a Peruvian trial of a Chinese vaccine died of pneumonia associated with COVID-19, but she was given a placebo, not the vaccine.
Cayetano Heredia University, which conducted a study on China’s Sinopharm vaccination, had to blind a local Peruvian trial after a participant in COVID-19 pneumonia died, according to Reuters.
After the trial unfolded, it was revealed that the volunteer who died was not given the vaccine but was in the placebo group. In a statement, the university said: “It is important to determine that the death of the participant has not been related to the vaccine since she received the placebo.”
This article was updated on February 11 to reflect new figures for Germany.