Reports that VAERS records increase in deaths due to COVID vaccinations are false
Reports that VAERS records increase in deaths due to COVID vaccinations are false
(Reuters) – Reports stemming from a false news video that the US Vaccine Adverse Event System (VAERS) reporting system recorded a sharp increase in deaths due to COVID-19 vaccinations in July 2021 are false.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) representatives confirmed that a review of death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, does not establish a causal link to all COVID-19 vaccines but acknowledged some deaths have occurred in connection with the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine.
The undated video seen on social media sites is visible here. The crowd-funded Stranger Than Fiction News (seen archived archive.is/M6Jfq ) produced the video (here) The site has a "questionable source” rating, according to Media Bias (here).
The content is comprised of movie clips and images of people convulsing and bleeding, seemingly from the vaccine. The disturbing pseudo-news report warns viewers about vaccine genocides and the need to protect themselves, saying "It s a nightmare. It s a crime against humanity.
It s a crime against all the Nuremberg codes. It s a crime against every constitutional right that we have, but of course they don t want to hear about that. They don t care about your rights because they censor you, they spy on you. They want to take your guns. This is a plandemic." The audio also contains repeated references to the widely debunked QAnon conspiracy theory and conspiracy theories about a totalitarian New World Order (here).
Previously debunked QAnon conspiracy content by Reuters is visible here and here .
Reuters found no evidence of announcements from the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, or reputable news reports examining confirmed claims of “skyrocketing deaths” resulting from COVID-19 vaccines as purported in the video.
Reuters has debunked similar claims that VAERS data implies causality, here and here.
As shown vaers.hhs.gov/data.html VAERS welcomes healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public to submit reports to the system. However, it warns that data found on the site "may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable."
As stated here by the CDC, “Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.”
According to CDC guidance listed on its page reporting adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines, seen here , there have been 6,340 reports of death (0.0019%) recorded from December 14, 2020, to July 26, 2021 "among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine." It is important to note that the "FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it is unclear whether the vaccine was the cause.”
Martha Sharan, a CDC spokesperson, told Reuters that “reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that a vaccine caused a health problem.” All deaths must be verified because VAERS does not determine the cause of death.
According to the CDC, COVID-19 vaccine deaths are rare, but they do occur.
Sharan told Reuters that “a review of available clinical information, including death certificates, autopsy, and medical records, has not established a causal link to COVID-19 vaccines.” She did note that “recent reports (here) indicate a plausible causal relationship between the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine and Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. TTS is a rare and severe adverse event—blood clots with low platelets—which has caused deaths." Sharan confirmed there are three known deaths associated with vaccines, and that deaths "were confirmed cases of TTS following the J&J/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine."
The spokesperson said that the CDC became aware of the instances after an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting in April 2021. Sharan says the CDC plans to release the number of TTS deaths connected to the COVID-19 vaccine later this month.
VERDICT
False. Claims of widespread death due to COVID-19 vaccines reported on VAERS are false. Entries in VAERS do not prove causality. According to the CDC, there have been three confirmed deaths connected to the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.
