What was claimed
A report exhibits COVID-19 vaccines had a fee of damage 50 instances increased than different vaccines.
Our verdict
False. The report comprises numbers of suspected opposed occasions following vaccination, not vaccine-induced accidents, and the 50 instances larger calculation is wrong.
A senator has claimed that COVID-19 vaccines brought about an “monumental” improve in accidents in comparison with different vaccines.
Queensland Liberal Nationwide Occasion (LNP) Senator Gerard Rennick claimed {that a} Western Australia vaccine security report discovered that the speed of accidents related to COVID-19 vaccines was 50 instances increased than different vaccines.
That is false. The report particulars reported opposed occasions following vaccination, not vaccine-induced accidents. The methodology for gathering studies following COVID-19 vaccines and different vaccines differed, making any comparability problematic. Moreover, specialists instructed AAP FactCheck the senator’s calculations have been misguided.
Rennick made the declare throughout a Senate estimates listening to in October 2023, which he posted a video of to his X/Twitter, Fb and TikTok accounts on February 14, 2024.
The senator requested a Therapeutic Items Administration (TGA) officer: “How do you clarify the big improve in opposed occasions throughout a variety of opposed occasions, as per the Western Australian vaccine report, that confirmed it to be 24 instances increased per dose? On condition that we’ve taken two doses a minimum of, it’s a 50 instances increased fee of damage with the COVID vaccine.”
When requested for the supply of his declare by AAP FactCheck, Rennick cited the Western Australian Vaccine Security Surveillance (WAVSS) — Annual Report 2021. The doc data studies of suspected opposed occasions following COVID-19 vaccines, and for different vaccines, in WA for 2021. There have been 200 such studies following non-COVID vaccinations and 10,428 after COVID-19 vaccines, in keeping with the report.
Nonetheless, the doc doesn’t present the “fee of damage”, as claimed by Rennick.
The WA Division of Well being mentioned it data suspected opposed occasions reported by well being professionals and the general public.
“This consists of any report the place vaccination was recorded as ‘presumably’ being the reason for, or contributing to the reported opposed occasion, and will not be essentially confirmed,” a consultant instructed AAP FactCheck in an e mail.
Adrian Esterman, a professor of biostatistics on the College of South Australia, mentioned “There is no such thing as a manner of figuring out whether or not the opposed occasion was really brought on by the vaccine.”
“An intensive investigation to find out causality is barely undertaken for extreme opposed occasions,” he instructed AAP FactCheck in an e mail.
The well being division mentioned increased numbers of suspected opposed occasions for COVID-19 vaccines may very well be attributed to a change in methodology to extend surveillance of its results in contrast with different vaccines. Publish-vaccination surveys at three separate intervals and linking vaccinations to emergency division visits and hospitalisations, it mentioned, have been new measures not taken for different vaccines.
“Each methodological variations would have resulted within the report disproportionately representing potential severe opposed occasions the place the vaccinee had introduced to hospital for COVID-19 vaccinations in comparison with different vaccines,” the consultant mentioned.
Esterman mentioned different components possible elevated studies of opposed occasions following COVID-19 vaccination.
“Because the report says, due to the excessive charges of suspicions in regards to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines magnified by social media, folks have been much more prone to report any opposed occasion following a COVID-19 vaccination than for different varieties of vaccines,” he mentioned.
Esterman added that the overwhelming majority of studies “are of very minor reactions, like a sore arm, or headache”. The most typical reactions have been headache, lethargy and muscle ache, the report mentioned (Web page 19, Determine 10). The TGA has investigated all extreme opposed occasions.
For example, Esterman pointed to the 1004 deaths reported to the TGA for the reason that begin of the vaccine rollout. Following investigations, the TGA has discovered that 14 deaths nationally have been prone to be associated to COVID vaccination.
Rennick’s “50 instances increased” declare relies on the speed of 264.1 opposed occasions reported per 100,000 COVID vaccine doses on Web page 28 of the report. This compares to 11.1 per 100,000 doses of different vaccines. He mentioned he multiplied the 264.1 determine by two to account for the 2 injections required for a “major course” of a COVID vaccine.
Nonetheless, the well being division and specialists mentioned there have been varied points with this calculation.
A departmental spokesperson mentioned the 264.1 per 100,000 doses determine consists of all COVID-19 vaccine doses acquired, no matter whether or not they have been the primary, second, or boosters.
“It’s incorrect to multiply this fee by the variety of doses a person receives,” they added.
Dr Christopher Baker from the College of Melbourne’s College of BioSciences mentioned recording opposed occasions for COVID and non-COVID vaccine-related studies per 100,000 doses made sense, provided that most of the latter would possible require two or extra doses. The report states that the non-COVID class consists of influenza vaccines and others on the Nationwide Immunisation Program Schedule, lots of which require a number of injections.
“So in case you have been to check a major course for COVID to different major programs, there would must be an analogous calculation for the others,” Dr Baker instructed AAP FactCheck.
The decision
The declare {that a} report exhibits COVID-19 vaccines had a fee of damage 50 instances increased than different vaccines is fake. The report checked out suspected opposed occasions following vaccination, not vaccine-induced accidents.
Regardless, the methodology for gathering studies differed for COVID and non-COVID vaccines, making any comparability problematic.
Specialists additionally raised a number of points with Rennick’s calculations.
False — The declare is inaccurate.
