It is now a periodic event that leads anti-vaxxers to take official press releases, studies or presumed ones and use them as “proof” of a link between vaccines against the new Coronavirus and an excess of deaths. As we had seen in previous analyzes (for example here, here and here) in the end it turns out that the source says otherwise, or is of dubious reliability. The latest Facebook shares regarding a publication by British Medical Journal (BMJ) are no exception, let’s see why.
For those in a hurry:
A BMJ publication was used by anti-vaxers to support a link between Covid vaccines and excess deaths.
The publication does not demonstrate such a connection at all.
The denial came from the same magazine that published the research.
Analyses
Those who share screen shots on the alleged link between Covid vaccines and an excess of deaths accompany it all with the following caption:
And MOH? WHO WAS RIGHT? VACCINOPHILES OR “GOMBLODDISTSH11”? “Lockdown and Covid Vaccines have caused more deaths than the virus.” A study in the British Medical Journal urges governments to investigate excess deaths even during mass stings and lockdowns. “Unprecedented fact”. Of course, 4 years of mental retardation to have doubts, suspicions, carry out investigations and understand, takes a lot of effort! If you put the same effort you put into not wanting to understand things into doing your best to understand them, Italy would truly be the most beautiful country in the world! Instead in 2020/2021 we had Sileri deputy minister of health!
The BMJ on Covid vaccines and excess deaths
As already explained by colleagues at Factthe titled BMJ article is based on the «database of Our World in Dataa statistics site that contains data and analyzes based on various topics, including for example health, wealth, poverty, rights”.
«Research states that excess deaths between 2020 and 2022 in over 40 Western countries amounted to 3,098,456 – explains Facta -. Nowhere in the research in question is it written that vaccines and measures to contain the spread of the virus, such as the so-called “lockdowns”, were the cause of these excess deaths or that they caused more deaths than the Sars-CoV- virus. 2. The study published on BMJPublic Health in fact it never analyzes the impact of anti-Covid vaccination on the population, nor does it examine the cause-effect relationship between mortality and the vaccination status of deceased people”.
For further information you can also read Ian Le Guillou’s analysis for Health Feedback:
«The available evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines have saved millions of lives. Although many countries have recorded an excessive number of deaths until 2022 – continues Le Guillou -, this total would have been much higher without the vaccine rollout. The widespread disruptions and long-term health impacts caused by the pandemic are likely to have contributed to the persistent trend of excess deaths even after the risk of COVID-19 has receded.”
Just to close any glimmer of doubt, the BMJ editorial team itself has published a statement in which it denies the No vax interpretations of the publication in question:
«Various media outlets have stated that this research implies a direct causal link between COVID-19 vaccination and mortality. This study makes no such connection. The researchers only examined trends in excess mortality over time – explains the press release -, not its causes. While researchers acknowledge that side effects are reported after vaccination, the research does not support the claim that vaccines are a major factor contributing to the excess deaths since the pandemic began. Vaccines, in fact, have been instrumental in reducing severe illness and death associated with COVID-19 infection. The message of the research is that understanding the overall excess mortality since the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial for future health policies, but identifying the specific causes is complex due to the different quality of national data and reporting methods” .
Conclusions
We have seen that the BMJ publication in question does not demonstrate a link between Covid vaccines and excess deaths at all, as clarified by the same journal that approved its publication after the usual verification by other experts, the best-known peer review process .
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