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AI Overview
Scientific studies and global health authorities, including the CDC and WHO, have concluded that
deaths caused by COVID-19 vaccinations are extremely rare, and the benefits of vaccination far outweigh the risks. Health agencies have investigated reported deaths and found nearly all were due to other causes.
Confirmed Vaccine-Related Deaths
While health systems receive many reports of deaths that occur after vaccination, robust investigations and autopsy studies have confirmed very few cases where the vaccine was the underlying or a contributory cause of death.
- United States: The CDC has stated it has not identified any cases in which a COVID-19 vaccine caused a person's death based on a review of available clinical information, including death certificates and autopsy reports.
- United Kingdom: As of August 2021, statistical agencies reported nine deaths in the UK where the vaccine contributed to the death, with five having the vaccine as the underlying cause (meaning it initiated the chain of events leading to death).
- Finland: A nationwide analysis of all medicolegal autopsies in 2020-2021 found 12 cases where a forensic pathologist considered the vaccine a potential etiological factor for a cause of death (e.g., specific thromboembolic events), out of nearly 10 million doses administered.
- Specific Adverse Events: The rare, serious adverse events with a confirmed causal link to certain vaccines include:
- Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) or VITT (very rare blood clots) associated with adenoviral vector vaccines (AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson).
- Myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the heart) which are rare side effects of mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna), mostly in young men. These cases have generally had mild outcomes, with very few, if any, resulting in death that could be definitively linked to the vaccine after investigation.
Distinguishing Correlation from Causation
Reports of adverse events following immunization (AEFIs), including deaths, are collected in surveillance systems like the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) in the U.S..
- Important Caveat: These systems accept all reports and are designed as an early warning mechanism; a report to VAERS is not proof that the vaccine caused the event.
- Health officials investigate these reports to determine causality. Many initial vaccine doses went to older individuals or those with severe pre-existing medical conditions, who were already at high risk of dying from other natural causes.
Overall Impact
Public health data scientists emphasize that the number of lives saved by COVID-19 vaccination far exceeds the extremely rare risks. One study estimated that vaccinations averted nearly 14 million deaths globally in the first year alone. |
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