FOI release

Freedom of Information request on number of people who have passed away 28 and 60 days after receiving COVID-19 vaccination (FOI 21-373)

Published 28 June 2021

7th May 2021 FOI 21/373 Dear

Thank you for your email dated 7 th April 2021, where you asked for information on the following:

• Total number of people who have passed away 28 days and 60 days after taking ANY vaccine for Covid-19 (Pfizer/BioNTech/Astrazeneca or any other COVID-19 vaccine)
• The total number of people who have passed away 28 days after taking ANY flu vaccine 2015- 2021

Further to your request I can confirm that the total number of fatal Yellow Card reports received by the MHRA associated with any of the COVID-19 vaccinations is listed in the weekly coronavirus summary report available from our website. Reporters can submit Yellow Card reports at any time after a suspected ADR has occurred. All fatal reports received, regardless of when the patient died are included in our analysis and published in the ADR summary publication each week.

It is not possible to compare data on different COVID-19 vaccines or to any other vaccine. There are a range of factors that can lead to increased reporting of one vaccine over another, for instance sociodemographic factors of vaccine recipients or whether or not they have been encouraged by information, or a healthcare professional, to make a report. No robust inferences can be drawn from such comparisons.

Overall, the number and nature of suspected adverse reactions reported so far is not unusual for an immunisation programme and the data published and analysed by the MHRA tell us that the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines is as expected based on the robust clinical trial data that supported the authorisations.

The general safety profiles of the COVID-19 vaccines authorised in the UK are broadly similar to other types of routinely used vaccines. Our robust regulatory work continues to reinforce that the safety profile of the vaccines remains positive and the benefits continue to far outweigh any known side-effects.

In terms of your second request, please see table 1 and 2, which lists the number of fatal reports associated with the inactivated influenza vaccine which is mainly given to adults and the live attenuated influenza vaccine given to children.

Table 1: The number of fatal ADR reports associated with the inactivated influenza vaccination received between 01/01/2015 – 30/04/2021

Year Received	Number of fatal ADR reports
2015	4
2016	5
2017	5
2018	4
2019	11
2020	5
2021 up to 30/04/2021	1

Table 2: The number of fatal ADR reports associated with the live attenuated influenza vaccination received between 01/01/2015 – 30/04/2021

Year Received	Number of fatal ADR reports
2015	2
2016	2
2017	1
2018	0
2019	0
2020	2
2021 up to 30/04/2021	0

It is important to bear in mind the following points when interpreting Yellow Card data:

• Please be aware, the reporting of a particular reaction does not necessarily mean that it has been caused by the vaccine. Many factors must be considered in assessing the relationship between a drug or vaccine and suspected reaction including the possible contribution of other drugs being taken, and the underlying disease.

• Furthermore, the number of reports received should not be used as a basis for determining incidence of a reaction as neither the total number of reactions occurring, nor the number of patients using a drug or vaccine is included in this data.

I hope the information provided is helpful, however if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of this response; and can be addressed to this email address.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Team