ATLANTA — Whether it's a tweet from a Georgia representative claiming thousands have died from vaccines or social media comments on Facebook, people are questioning if the COVID vaccine is responsible for thousands of deaths.
SOURCES
- Vaccine Adverse Event Recording System (VAERS),
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- PolitiFact
QUESTION:
Did the COVID vaccine cause thousands of deaths?
ANSWER:
First, the Vaccine Adverse Event Recording System, which is run by the CDC and FDA allows people to report adverse reaction after a vaccine. The system reports without verifying if a vaccine actually caused the death.
The system does show it's received 6,490 reports of death in people who received a COVID vaccine, as of as of Aug. 2. However, this number is not a tool to gauge deaths because the system doesn't verify if it's true.
The FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death after a COVID-19 vaccine even when it's unclear if the vaccine might be involved.
For example, the CDC said if a person with a history of heart problems goes to the ER in cardiac arrest, and dies, the hospital is required to report the death, and if the person was vaccinated. Then, the CDC verifies that cause of death.
The CDC recently said a review of death certificates, autopsies, and medical records have not established a "casual link to COVID-19 vaccines."
However, it's important to note, there was a relationship between the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which caused rare blood clot, and those blood clots led to at least 3 deaths.
The overall claim that COVID vaccines caused thousands of deaths is FALSE.