Covid vaccines may have contributed to excess deaths – study

Researchers have called for deeper probes into side effects and links to mortality rates

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More than three million excess deaths were registered in Western countries during the first three years of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study that suggests that Covid vaccines could be partly to blame.

According to the research from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, published in the journal BMJ Public Health earlier this week, a total of 3,098,456 excess deaths were reported in 47 countries between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022.

In 2020, 1.03 million excess deaths were reported in the first full year of the pandemic, the study found. The year 2021, when the first vaccines were rolled out, saw over 1.25 million excess deaths, and in 2022 – when Covid-related restrictions were lifted – over 808,000 excess deaths were recorded, according to preliminary data cited in the study.

“Excess mortality has remained high in the Western World for three consecutive years, despite the implementation of containment measures and Covid-19 vaccines,” according to the research.

The researchers said the “unprecedented” figures raise serious concerns, and that policymakers should conduct thorough investigations into the “underlying causes of persistent excess mortality.”

“During the pandemic, it was emphasised by politicians and the media on a daily basis that every Covid-19 death mattered and every life deserved protection through containment measures and Covid-19 vaccines. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the same moral should apply,” they said.

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The authors pointed out that “suspected” adverse events have been recorded, even though vaccines were supposed to protect recipients from death or severe illness due to Covid-19. They added that medical professionals and drug recipients reported “serious injuries and deaths following vaccination” according to “various official databases.”

The study concluded that differentiating between the causes was “challenging,” as national statistics agencies vary in thoroughness and quality, testing policies for coronavirus differ from state to state, and “not everyone agreed on what qualified as a Covid-19 death.”

The researchers also noted that side effects linked to vaccination against Covid-19 included ischaemic stroke, acute coronary syndrome, brain haemorrhage, cardiovascular diseases, coagulation, haemorrhages, gastrointestinal events and fatal blood clotting.

In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the coronavirus was no longer a global health emergency. However, Covid-19 cases and follow-up deaths are still being reported across the world. According to data tracked by the Geneva-based institution, 36,014 cases were registered globally in the seven days before May 19, marking a week-on-week rise of 2,336.