More people than expected have died in Western countries since 2022
A new study looking at the excess deaths was interpreted by some as suggesting the vaccine is to blame. But according to the director of the department at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, this data analysis cannot be used to say anything about the reasons for the increased mortality in European countries.
The Telegraph reported on a new study on mortality in 47 European countries. After publication, skeptics linked the results to increased vaccination rates during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new study looks at excess deaths, specifically in 2020, 2021 and 2022, where more people died than expected in 47 Western countries.
«This is unexpected and worrying,» the Dutch researchers said.
More than 808,392 people died in Western countries in 2022, despite infection control measures and vaccinations. The researchers did not investigate the causes of the excess deaths, they said.
“The study therefore does not provide evidence that coronavirus vaccination causes an increase in mortality, as many media reports about the study may indicate,” said Anne Kristin Skrindo Knudsen, director of the department at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
On in fact, Knudsen says, the study's findings are in good agreement with other studies: in 2020, 2021 and 2022, many Western countries experienced high rates of excess mortality.
Dutch researchers have devoted much work to describing the side effects of COVID-19 vaccines. But the idea that vaccines are to blame is not supported by scientific research.
Some have experienced serious side effects after vaccination, and rarely people have died after getting shots, but several studies have shown that this is a very rare occurrence.
Knudsen points to several possible explanations for the increase in deaths: “More contagious delta and omicron variants of the virus appeared in Norway around the same time restrictions were lifted.”
Almost half of the excess deaths at the end of 2021 and into 2022 were actually due to causes other than COVID-19, according to a cause-of-death registry study by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Cardiovascular disease was one of the most common causes of excess mortality.
The study did not calculate how many excess deaths occurred in Western countries in 2023, but it did highlight that excess mortality rates have fallen.
In some countries, COVID-19 will remain the leading cause of death, while in others other diseases will be seen, Knudsen said. A weaker economy and lack of health care could also affect the health of vulnerable populations in many countries.
“In 2024, it is more difficult to estimate the level of excess deaths because the more time has passed since the start of the pandemic, the more difficult it is to estimate how many deaths we could expect if the world becomes the same as before,” explains the director of the department at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.