This report examines adverse events reported to the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) following COVID-19 vaccinations, highlighting a significant increase in reports. The report addresses two main questions: whether the increase in reports is due to more vaccinations or “stimulated reporting” (increased awareness and fear due to media).
The VAERS system, managed by the FDA and CDC, collects reports of medical problems after vaccination, but does not assume causality. A key weakness is undercounting, as reporting is passive and voluntary. A JAMA study on Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital employees found a higher rate of anaphylactic reactions than reported to VAERS, suggesting that only 0.8% to 2% of reactions are reported, meaning the true rate could be 50 to 125 times higher than reported. This undercounting is likely worse for non-anaphylactic reactions.
Comparing COVID-19 vaccines to other vaccines from 2010-2020, deaths reported to VAERS per 100,000 doses are 24x higher for COVID-19 vaccines, indicating the increase is not solely due to more vaccinations.
To address “stimulated reporting,” the report adopts a methodology similar to a CDC paper by Velozzi et al. 2010 on the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine. This involves comparing reporting rates of adverse events for COVID-19 vaccines against seasonal influenza vaccines, stratified by age. Tables 3 and 4 show significantly higher reporting rates for various adverse events, including serious events and deaths, for COVID-19 vaccines compared to influenza vaccines, even after controlling for doses and age distribution. For example, the rate of deaths per 100,000 doses for COVID-19 vaccines is 154x higher than for influenza vaccines across all ages, and the proportion of serious events and deaths is also considerably higher. The report notes that for the 10-17 age group, there were 84x more reported deaths per 100,000 doses for COVID-19 vaccines compared to influenza vaccines, with a stark difference in the absolute number of deaths reported.
The METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX details the data sources and calculation procedures for the tables and figures, including using CDC’s WONDER interface for VAERS data, data from usfacts.org for vaccine doses, and US Census Bureau data for population demographics.
Summary with Marked Entities:
This report examines adverse events reported to the CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) following COVID-19 vaccinations, highlighting a significant increase in reports. The report addresses two main questions: whether the increase in reports is due to more vaccinations or “stimulated reporting” (increased awareness and fear due to media exposure).
The VAERS system, managed by the FDA and CDC, collects reports of medical problems after vaccination, but does not assume causality. A key weakness is undercounting, as reporting is passive and voluntary. A JAMA study on Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital employees found a higher rate of anaphylactic reactions than reported to VAERS, suggesting that only 0.8% to 2% of reactions are reported, meaning the true rate could be 50 to 125 times higher than reported. This undercounting is likely worse for non-anaphylactic reactions.
Comparing COVID-19 vaccines to other vaccines from 2010-2020, deaths reported to VAERS per 100,000 doses are 24x higher for COVID-19 vaccines, indicating the increase is not solely due to more vaccinations.
To address “stimulated reporting,” the report adopts a methodology similar to a CDC paper by Velozzi et al. 2010 on the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine. This involves comparing reporting rates of adverse events for COVID-19 vaccines against seasonal influenza vaccines, stratified by age. Tables 3 and 4 show significantly higher reporting rates for various adverse events, including serious events and deaths, for COVID-19 vaccines compared to influenza vaccines, even after controlling for doses and age distribution. For example, the rate of deaths per 100,000 doses for COVID-19 vaccines is 154x higher than for influenza vaccines across all ages, and the proportion of serious events and deaths is also considerably higher. The report notes that for the 10-17 age group, there were 84x more reported deaths per 100,000 doses for COVID-19 vaccines compared to influenza vaccines, with a stark difference in the absolute number of deaths reported.
The METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX details the data sources and calculation procedures for the tables and figures, including using CDC’s WONDER interface for VAERS data, data from usfacts.org for vaccine doses, and US Census Bureau data for population demographics.
List of Marked Entities:
- CDC’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS)
- COVID-19
- FDA
- CDC
- JAMA
- Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital
- 24x
- Velozzi et al. 2010
- H1N1 Swine Flu
- influenza
- Tables 3 and 4
- 154x
- 84x
- METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX
- CDC’s WONDER interface
- usfacts.org
- US Census Bureau
- Tel Aviv
- Blumenthal et al. 2021
- Shimabukuro et al. 2015:6