A Facebook post that has been viewed thousands of times and marked as fake by users claims without evidence that the World Health Organization is hiding information about the safety of the flu vaccine.
The post, from January 8, falsely claims that 104,000 people died as a result of the flu vaccination between 2019 and 2021 in the UK. Other claims made in the mail fall outside the scope of this check (here).
” A few days ago, I announced that the much-censored WHO data shows that the 2019-20 flu outbreaks are known to kill 377 out of every 100,000 healthy adults, ” the user wrote. He continues: ‘Well, after examining the UK Government’s data from September 2019 to January 2021, we discovered that: 1. 28 million people had the flu during the period. 2. 104 000 of the people died. 3. 28,000,000 / 100,000 = 280 [x 377] = 105 560 fatal adverse events. ”
It is not true. Firstly, there is no data from the WHO that says that flu shots kill. Any calculations made with such data are therefore invalid.
The WHO maintains that the flu vaccination is ‘safe’, and that reports of serious side effects are ‘extremely rare’ (here). It refers to Guillain-Barré syndrome, a treatable disease that affects one in every million people, causing muscle weakness and paralysis.
Another side effect may be of a severe allergic reaction – known as anaphylaxis – to the ingredients of the vaccine, although it is also treatable and extremely rare. According to the Oxford Vaccine Group, between 1997 and 2003 there were a total of 130 reports of anaphylaxis in the UK after all forms of vaccination. This is a rate of 1 case of anaphylaxis in 900,000 vaccinations, as 117 million doses during the six-year period (here).
About 14 million people in the UK were vaccinated against influenza in the 2019-20 season (here). Figures for the full season 2020-21 are not yet available. The most recent data shows that just over 12 million flu vaccinations were given between September and November 2020 in England alone (here, here). Figures for December 2020 and January 2021, together with figures for all months in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, have not yet been released.
A total of 26 million flu vaccinations (14 million in 2019-20; 12 million and count in 2020-21) does not mean that 26 million different people have been vaccinated in the UK. This is because people are advised to get a chance to get vaccinated against different flu strains in circulation every season (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. The World Health Organization maintains that flu vaccinations are safe and serious side effects are extremely rare.
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