ARCHIVED - 254 deaths in Spain could be related to Covid vaccines say Ministry of Health

If confirmed the figure would represent 0.0009 per cent of doses administered

Just 7 cases are confirmed of death from blood clots after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine

Data published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Health report that up to July 11 the deaths of 254 people in Spain could be attributable to the side effects of coronavirus vaccine jabs, although in only 7 cases are blood clots associated with the AstraZeneca product confirmed as being the cause of death.

On July 11 the number of people to have received at least one vaccine dose in this country had reached 28.1 million (receiving 47.8 million jabs), meaning that even if all 254 possible cases were confirmed the death rate linked to vaccines would be 0.0009 per cent, or under one in every 100,000.

When the data were compiled the AstraZeneca vaccine accounted for 18 per cent of all doses administered in Spain, with the majority corresponding to Pfizer (70 per cent) and the others being those produced by Moderna (9 per cent) and Janssen (3 per cent).

32,901 cases of adverse side effects had been reported (at a rate of 67 cases per 100,000 doses), 88 per cent of them in under-65s and 77 per cent in women. Most of the side effects were of minor importance, including mild fever, headaches and generalized discomfort in the arm where the vaccine was administered, while 6,390 were considered more serious.

The Ministry also stresses that the vast majority of fatalities cannot be definitively attributed to the vaccinations: most patients already suffered from potentially life-threatening conditions and their cases are far from uniform, presenting a wide variety of symptoms and case histories.

No information is given regarding which vaccines had been given to those with serious side effects except with regard to AstraZeneca, which is confirmed as having been related to the seven confirmed fatalities and a further 32 “possibles”. All but one of these 32 occurred after the first dose, representing an average of one per 5 million doses.

Neither is there any evaluation of the results of offering those who received the first dose of AstraZeneca the opportunity to complete their inoculation process with a dose of the Pfizer product.

However, it is explained that none of the four vaccines in use in Spain is completely exempt. With the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines adverse effects are reported for 0.1 per cent of doses administered, while the equivalent proportions for Pfizer and Janssen are 0.05 per cent and 0.04 per cent respectively.

In the meantime, the European Medicines Agency is currently investigating links between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and increased risk of inflammation of the heart (myocarditis and pericarditis). In Spain 53 possible cases have been reported related to the Pfizer vaccine and 14 related to Moderna, most of them concerning the second dose administered to young men.

Image: regional government of the Canaries