Data also details claims for harm by type of vaccine given as ONS stresses effectiveness
The UK government has received 334 claims for Covid jab deaths, according to new data from the NHS Business Services Authority.
The data reveal that, overall and as of 6 March, there have been 4,017 Covid-19 claims under the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, which awards £120,000 to those who have been severely disabled by the jab, or to the relatives of someone who has died as a result of it.
In response to a freedom of information request from Research Professional News, the NHS BSA also revealed the breakdown of damages claims according to type of jab.
Of 1,013 Covid-19 vaccine related claims where an outcome has been communicated to the claimant, most claims were for AstraZeneca vaccines at 622, followed by Pfizer at 348 and Moderna at 43. The data on claims for deaths specifically were not broken down by type of vaccine.
“Not all these claims were successful and it is therefore not possible to confirm whether the Covid-19 vaccine caused severe disablement,” the NHS BSA said.
AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna and the NHS BSA have been contacted for comment.
On the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme, minister for mental health and women’s health strategy, Maria Caulfield, told parliament last week: “As of 23 February 2023, of the 48 awarded claims relating to the Covid-19 vaccine, 23 were claims made on behalf of a deceased person, and in all cases the deaths were recorded by coroners as having been caused by a Covid-19 vaccination.”
According to data from the Office for National Statistics, 52 people in England and Wales have died from the Covid-19 vaccine, whereas around 160,000 have died from Covid-19 between March 2020 and December 2022.
The ONS recently reminded the public of the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine following the study.
“While vaccination carries some risks, these need to be assessed in light of the benefits of vaccination,” said Nafilyan. “The risk of death is greatly increased following a positive test for Covid-19, even in young people, and many studies show that vaccines are highly effective at preventing hospitalisation or death following Covid-19 infection.”
In its most recent report on Covid-19 vaccines, the UK Health Security Agency said the safety of the vaccine is continuously monitored by the country’s medicines regulator, and that the benefits of the jab outweigh any potential risk.
‘Increasing demand for the payments’
The new figures come after the Telegraph reported that increasing demand for the payments had seen the number of staff processing the claims increase twentyfold.
They also come as an Office for National Statistics study looking at the mortality of young people (aged 12 to 29) in England, published on 27 March, found “there was evidence of an increase in cardiac death in young women after a first dose of non-mRNA vaccines, with the risk being 3.5 times higher in the 12 weeks following vaccination compared with the longer-term risk”.
The study did not find links between mRNA vaccines and mortality, and overall for the study population as a whole, there was no significant increase in cardiac or all-cause mortality in the 12 weeks following Covid-19 vaccination compared with more than 12 weeks after any dose.
“We find no evidence that the risk of cardiac or all cause death is increased in the weeks following vaccination with mRNA vaccines,” said ONS senior statistician Vahé Nafilyan. “However, receiving a first dose of a non-mRNA vaccine was associated with an increased risk of cardiac death in young women.
“Vaccination with the main non-mRNA vaccine used in the UK was stopped for young people following safety concerns in April 2021, and most of the young people who received it would have been prioritised due to clinical vulnerability or being healthcare workers. Therefore, these results cannot be generalised to the population as a whole.”
Funding research
Caulfield told parliament last week that she recognises “concerns about the vaccine, and that is why we have instigated further research. There is £110 million going into the National Institute for Health and Care Research to fund Covid vaccine research, and that includes vaccine safety and the robust monitoring of adverse events.
“We have also allocated £1.6 million to researchers at the University of Liverpool, to understand the rare condition of blood clotting with low platelets following vaccination.”
MHRA’s latest update said: “As with all vaccines and medicines, the safety of Covid-19 vaccines is being continuously monitored.
“The benefits of the vaccines in preventing Covid-19 and serious complications associated with Covid-19 far outweigh any currently known side effects in the majority of patients.”
It cited UKHSA analysis which found that “up to 26 September 2021, the UK vaccination programme prevented between 23.9 and 24.3 million infections, and between 123,600 and 131,300 deaths”.
According to the government data portal, more than 151,248,820 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the UK, as of 23 March.