No, Two Health Workers Did Not Die after receiving the Covid-19 Vaccine in the UK

After the UK became the first nation to approve the coronavirus vaccine for general use, all eyes were on its mass vaccination rollout last week. However, on the first day of the immunization campaign came the news of two health care workers having allergic reactions after receiving the vaccine. 

It fueled the already popular baseless conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 vaccine. Some even claimed that those two NHS workers in the UK died due to the Pfizer vaccine.

Fact Crescendo received several requests about such claims on our Whatsaap FactLine (9049053770). Readers even sent news article links that reported the death of those two NHS workers.

(Note: Google Translated Text)

Original Article – Jentilal | Archive

The link of the above-mention article is also shared on Facebook (Archive). Many people expressed their anger in the comment section, while others expressed concerns about the effectiveness of vaccines. 

FACT-CHECK

First thing first: It is true that two health care workers developed allergic reactions after having the first vaccine dose last week in the UK. However, they did not die as claimed on social media.

According to the BBC report, the two NHS workers had symptoms shortly after they received the new vaccine. They had an anaphylactoid reaction, which tends to involve a skin rash, breathlessness, and sometimes a drop in blood pressure. They are both fine now. 

Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for the NHS in England, said that two people had a history of serious allergies. Both are recovering well.

The identities of the NHS workers have not been revealed, reports the Guardian on the same. It prompted NHS England to issue an order that advised not to give the vaccine to people with a history of allergic reactions.

Hence, the news of the two NHS workers’ death due to the vaccine is false. 

Have other people died due to the vaccine?

The United States of America has also approved the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. 

After the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization, news of six people died during the vaccine’s late-stage trials is making rounds on social media. It has become a cause of concern for many.

Before jumping to any conclusion, it is good to know that only two of those six people were given the vaccine in trial and none of the deaths were attributed to the vaccine.

According to briefing documents released by FDA, a total of 43,448 people have participated in clinical trials of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine during April and November. 

Out of that, six participants died from 29 April to 14 November. This included 2 participants in the vaccine group and 4 participants in the placebo group.  

Now those two who have received the vaccine were above 55 years of age. One of them experienced an SAE of arteriosclerosis and died 3 days after Dose 1. The other one suffered a heart attack 60 days after the second dose and died 3 days later.

All deaths represent events that occur in the general population of the age groups where they occurred, at a similar rate, notes the FDA report. It further states that after the second dose suggest a favorable safety profile, with no specific safety concerns identified that would preclude the issuance of an emergency use authorization.

Original Report – FDA Document

CONCLUSION

The claim that two NHS workers died after getting the Pfizer vaccine in the UK is false. Although, six people who have participated in the Pfizer vaccine clinical trial have died. The vaccine was not the cause of their death. 

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