1 in 10 COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Are Injured—But Omitted Data Could Mean Number Is Higher: Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
Peer-reviewed study shows at least 9.82% of vaccinated individuals are injured by the shot.
Recent findings from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine published Friday provide insight into vaccine adverse events, yet exclusions suggest some cases might be unaccounted for.
The research from England sheds light on adverse events individuals experienced post-COVID-19 vaccination.
"A total of 7,952,861 individuals were vaccinated with COVID-19 vaccines within the study period. Among them, 781,200 individuals (9.82%) presented to general practice with 1,482,273 AEIs," the study reads.
This equates to approximately 1 in 10 individuals experiencing an adverse event after receiving the vaccine.
With data sources from the Oxford-Royal College of General Practitioners Clinical Informatics Digital Hub (ORCHID), the study was designed to "estimate the incidence of adverse events of interest (AEIs) after receiving their first and second doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations, and to report the safety profile differences between the different COVID-19 vaccines."
The vaccines themselves showed varied outcomes.
"Within the first seven days post-vaccination, there was a 3–7% decrease in the overall RI of AEIs after receiving both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 and Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1, but a 20% increase after receiving the first dose of Moderna mRNA-1273," the study reveals.
However, a crucial aspect of the study involves its exclusion criteria.
There were individuals who had been injured by the shot but were not reflected in the study's reported findings.
The research excluded vaccine-injured individuals:
"Not registered with a general practice on 1 October 2020"
Who died “on or before 1 October 2020"
“With less than 14 days of follow-up after their first dose vaccination due to deregistration or death”
“With their first dose COVID-19 vaccine recorded before 8 December 2020”
“With their first dose ChAdOx1 vaccine recorded before 4 January 2021”
“With their first dose mRNA-1273 vaccine recorded before 13 April 2021”
“Who received their second dose less than 19 days after their first dose”
“Who received different brands of vaccines for their first and second dose”
“Who did not have a vaccine brand recorded”
The omission could mean that the actual number of individuals experiencing adverse events post-vaccination is higher than the 9.82% reported.
Readers and public health officials must account for this potential discrepancy when interpreting the study's conclusions about vaccine safety.