False: COVID-19 vaccines are killing more people than the coronavirus itself.

By: Ankita Kulkarni
February 5 2021

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The number of deaths reported from the virus is more than the number of people who died because of COVID-19 vaccines. COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus or SARS-CoV-2. Some social media users claim that more people have died from COVID-19 vaccines than from the virus itself. However, that is false and baseless. As of February 5, 2.29 million people have died because of the coronavirus. Since early 2020, several pharmaceutical companies and research organizations have been trying to develop a vaccine against COVID-19. As of February 2021, nine COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized in different parts of the world for emergency use, including Pfizer's Comirnaty, Moderna COVID‑19 Vaccine, Sinovac's CoronaVac, India's Covaxin, and Oxford and Astrazenca's COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca (AZD1222), also known as Covishield. Although there have been no deaths associated individually with the vaccine, there have been deaths among vaccine recipients aged above 80 because of their health ailments and some allergic reactions. According to the analysis made by DW reported that recipients of vaccines in Germany, Spain, the United States, Norway, Belgium, and Peru died due to multiple health issues, and there was no causal link between the vaccination and deaths. At least 36.7 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered worldwide, and the total number of reported deaths post-vaccination is less than 250. According to the US government database, there were 181 deaths related to the COVID-19 vaccine, but all the people who died reportedly had pre-existing conditions that were responsible for their deaths. A report by Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), which is in charge of vaccination in Germany, had investigated ten deaths in the country associated with the vaccination process and revealed that all the recipients were aged from 79 to 93 years old and had pre-existing health conditions. All nine deaths reported in Spain have been attributed to the complications in place at the time of the outbreak while the vaccination schedule was underway. The 30 deaths reported in Norway were also in the people aged above 80, which made the country alter their vaccination guidelines that recommended every individual's health analysis before the vaccine shots. The deaths of 19 health workers in India have also not been linked to the vaccination, and authorities are yet to determine the cause of their death. Based on the evidence listed above, we conclude that more people have died from the virus than COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.