Beware Vaccine Misinformation

Danish health agencies push back against false claims of vaccination deaths

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The Staten Serum Institut and the Danish Medicines Agency were busy Wednesday pushing back on some misinformation being peddled on social media. A “story” circulating online claims a freedom of information request found over 4,000 people died in Denmark after being vaccinated. But the Statem Serum Institute says this is “not real.” 

It says since the turn of the year, 2,423 have died within 30 days after a first vaccination and 1,992 within 30 days after a second dose. But it says those statistics “are being misinterpreted” to infer the deaths were due to vaccination “but that is not correct.” It says often the people being vaccinated are elderly, many with underlying health conditions. Others are vulnerable citizens with their own health challenges. Then you have to factor in any number of other potential causes of death. The SSI says “therefore it is wrong to conclude that a total of 4,415 people have died from the vaccine.” 

The Staten Serum Institut also points to Denmark’s mortality rate, noting that on average there are 22,500 deaths in Denmark in any given year over the same timeframe. Right now it says deaths are well below the average, something it credits to having no influenza season this year. The flu season was wiped out due to the lack of travel, social distancing, and frequent hand washing brought on by the pandemic. 

As well, the Danish Medicines Agency (Lægemiddelstyrelsen) has been tasked since vaccinations began in December with tracking all reported vaccine side effects and investigating any reports of deaths. 

It has regularly published its findings, which are easily found HERE, including investigation results into reported fatalities. 

LMST Director Tanja Lund Erichsen, who recently had to refute misinformation claiming she had died after being vaccinated, thanked the SSI and media outlets who quickly published the facts to try and inject some truth into the debate.

As of LMST’s last update, on May 10th, between the three vaccines in use in Denmark Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca there was a total of 66 reports of possible vaccine-related deaths. After investigating in 65 of the 66 cases, it found “that it is less likely that there is a connection with the vaccine, and that it is overwhelmingly probable that the deaths are due to other conditions.” 

In one case, it found a probable link to the AstraZeneca vaccine due to the rare but serious side effects of blood clots, bleeding, and low platelets. AstraZeneca has since been dropped from the Danish vaccination program. 

So, one confirmed vaccine-related death in Denmark.