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'Flawed' Japanese Study On Covid Vaccine Death Misleads Online

Copyright © AFP 2017-2023. All rights reserved.

Health experts told AFP results from a study on the relationship between a Covid-19 vaccine and death were "negligible" and the research itself was flawed. However, social media posts misleadingly claimed the paper revealed that "70 percent of Covid-19 vaccine deaths in Japan occurred within ten days of receiving the Pfizer jab". In fact, worldwide vaccine monitoring data has shown no increased risk of death from the shots.

"Around 70 percent of people who died in Japan after receiving a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine lost their lives in the first 10 days following the jab, according to a recent study," reads a post written in simplified Chinese that was shared on X, formerly Twitter, on December 15, 2023.

"The peer-reviewed Japanese study, published in the Cureus journal on Dec. 7, looked at the association between Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination and deaths within 10 days of vaccination," the post continues.

"The risk period was defined as within 10 days of vaccination, with vaccination day being Day 1, and the control period defined as 11 to 180 days after vaccination."

The post includes a screenshot of a report by Epoch Health titled "70 Percent of Deaths from Pfizer Vaccine in Japan Reported Within 10 Days of Jab: Study".

The publication is the health section of The Epoch Times -- backed by the Falun Gong Chinese spiritual movement -- which has previously spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic and vaccines.

Conspiracy site Zerohedge and Natural News, a website that regularly publishes anti-vaccine articles, also shared similar claims. Both have been fact-checked by AFP for spreading misinformation, such as here, here and here.

The misleading claim also circulated in various languages including English, French, Spanish, Korean and Japanese.

However, the Japanese study being shared in the misleading posts is flawed, other researchers told AFP, and its impact is "negligible".

'Negligible' impact

The posts reference a paper published on Cureus.Com on December 7, 2023, titled "Analysis of the Association Between BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination and Deaths Within 10 Days After Vaccination Using the Sex Ratio in Japan". It is labelled as peer-reviewed.

The study used data on deaths reported in a "risk period" of 10 days after vaccination with the shot produced by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer.

While it found reported deaths were concentrated during the risk period for both men and women, it concluded that the numbers were too small to contradict findings by another cohort study in Japan that found no significant increase in all-cause mortality owing to vaccination.

The social media posts misleadingly present the results of this study, said Takahiro Kinoshita, a physician-scientist and a member of Cov-Navi, a Japanese project aiming to provide accurate vaccine information which is now disbanded (archived links here and here).

Kinoshita explained that the number of deaths used in the study could not be taken as a comprehensive source due to Japan having a passive reporting system where clinicians are only required to report adverse events only when they suspected a link to vaccination.

"Clinicians are more likely to report sudden deaths occurring soon after vaccination – within 10 days," he told AFP on December 21, 2023. "Therefore, this study does not suggest that the occurrence of deaths after vaccination is higher in the early period compared to the later period."

He added that the journal was not considered a "highly impactful source" and that the impact of the analysis was "negligible".

'Flaws'

Several infectious diseases experts, who were not involved in the study, told AFP the Japanese paper was flawed.

For example, the study looked at all-cause deaths -- mortality due to any cause including "disease, complication, or hazardous exposure" -- and not vaccine associated deaths, said Raina MacIntyre, professor of global biosecurity at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales in Australia (archived links here and here).

"Most of the deaths [in the study] were related to cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death and illness in the world and occurs at a higher rate in men than women, particularly under the age of 65," MacIntyre said on December 21, 2023.

MacIntyre also noted that people who were prioritised for vaccination against Covid-19 in early 2021 -- the study period -- were older or had multiple chronic conditions, putting them at higher risk of dying regardless of their vaccination status.

Chunhuei Chi, professor and director of the Center for Global Health at Oregon State University in the United States, told AFP that the study omits a critical figure -- the total number of people vaccinated with the Pfizer shot in Japan -- which makes the study easy to misrepresent (archived link).

"The author acknowledged several limitations, including not considering the effects of vaccination after 11 days, and sex bias in reporting deaths, that limited the strengths of the evidence and conclusion," Chi said on December 21, 2023.

William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University in the United States, pointed out the study had a "major flaw" as it had no control group (archived link).

"A rigorous study would have compared the vaccinated population with a comparable unvaccinated population similar in age and sex distribution with a similar distribution of underlying chronic illnesses," Schaffner told AFP on the same day.

This methodological bias was typical of most studies claiming higher mortality after vaccines, said Siddharth Sridhar, clinical assistant professor at the department of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong (archived link).

"Better quality cohort studies invariably find no increase in all-cause mortality after vaccination," he said on December 22, 2023.

Both Kinoshita and MacIntyre pointed out that hundreds of studies across the world on vaccine safety found no increase in the risk of all-cause death.

The World Health Organisation states that the Covid-19 vaccines are safe and effective, and estimates that in 2021 alone the jabs helped saved 14.4 million lives worldwide (archived link).

AFP has debunked hundreds of other false and misleading claims about Covid-19 vaccines here.

COVAX Winds Down After Preventing 2.7 Million Deaths With Vaccine Distribution

By Antonio Broto

Geneva, Dec 29 (EFE).- COVAX, the global initiative for equitable vaccine distribution, is set to conclude its mission on Dec 31, having played a pivotal role in distributing two billion COVID-19 vaccines over the past three years in an effort estimated to have averted 2.7 million deaths in developing nations.

Spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), COVAX aimed to democratize access to anti-coronavirus vaccines, ensuring no monopoly by wealthier countries.

Operating under the principle of "no one is safe until everyone is safe," the initiative achieved a commendable 57 percent COVID vaccination rate in the world's poorest regions, slightly below the global average of 67 percent.

"We knew that market forces alone would not deliver equitable access to vaccines and other tools," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

"The creation of ACT-A and COVAX gave millions of people around the world access to vaccines, tests, treatments, and other tools who would otherwise have missed out."

He said COVAX taught the world a valuable lesson "that will help us to be better prepared for future epidemics and pandemics."

Launched in mid-2020, prior to the commencement of global COVID-19 vaccinations, COVAX established a distribution network.

The network facilitated the donation of vaccine surpluses by developed nations, provided middle-income countries with reduced-price access, and ensured that 92 low-income economies received vaccines for free.

Many of the economies in that last group were from the African continent with Ghana and Ivory Coast being the first to receive COVAX vaccines in March 2021.

"The joint efforts of all partners to ensure an equitable response to the pandemic helped protect the futures of millions of children in vulnerable communities," said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell.

"This huge and historic undertaking is something we can be collectively proud of and build on."

Although COVAX did not completely eliminate vaccine inequality between affluent and impoverished nations, it significantly mitigated the disparity.

During the pandemic, three out of every four doses were distributed to lower-income countries, contributing to the vaccination of individuals in vulnerable communities.

"By the end of 2020, 190 economies of all income levels had signed agreements to participate in COVAX, making it one of the most significant multilateral partnerships of the 21st century," the participating organizations said in a joint statement at the end of the program.

Despite the commendable achievements, there were criticisms from countries experiencing slow shipments and varied conditions based on their economic status.

Nevertheless, COVAX played a crucial role in ensuring that anti-COVID vaccines reached poor countries within 40 days of their initial administration in wealthier nations.

While COVAX officially concludes its operations, vaccine distribution efforts in developing countries will persist through the GAVI Vaccine Alliance, spanning at least 2024 to 2025. Already, 58 countries have requested 83 million doses.

"As we transition COVID-19 into Gavi's routine programming, we do so with deep gratitude for the passion, dedication and sacrifice of so many around the globe who fought tirelessly for three years to try and create a more equitable world – and with an unwavering commitment to improve by transforming learnings into tangible action," said Gavi head José Manuel Barroso. EFE

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Vaccine Giant Pfizer To Lay Off 285 Workers At Rockland Campus. What To Know

Pfizer plans to lay off 285 workers at its Pearl River campus in New York as the pharmaceutical giant struggles financially, in part, due to declining demand for its COVID-19 vaccines and products, state records show.

The Pfizer job cuts will begin Feb. 12 and continue through late March, the company noted in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining, or WARN, notice posted Dec. 22 on the state Department of Labor website. The layoffs will slash about 28% of the 1,012 total workforce at the Pfizer facility in Rockland County.

Pfizer cited "economic" conditions as the reason for the layoffs. In a statement Wednesday, the company described the job cuts in New York as part of its "enterprise-wide cost realignment program." It noted U.S. Workers who lose jobs will be offered a separation package, as well as the "opportunity to post for internal Pfizer roles."

Why Pfizer is laying off workers in New York

Pfizer stock reached historic peaks during the pandemic as demand initially exploded for its COVID-19 vaccines, which it delivered in late 2020 with partner company BioNTech. Pfizer's stock price peaked in December 2021 amid promising results for its anti-viral COVID-19 pill, called Paxlovid.

But since that highpoint, Pfizer's stock price has plummeted about 50%, with its steepest decline unfolding in 2023 as the world ended the pandemic emergency.

More: Layoffs, unpaid furloughs hit RCC workers amid $3.4M college deficit

Most recently, the rollout of updated COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna this past fall stumbled amid insurance coverage hiccups, supply chain issues and limited demand for the shot.

Pfizer-BioNTech 2023-24 COVID-19 vaccine.

What Pfizer says about NY layoffs

In a statement to USA TODAY Network, Pfizer noted its cost adjustments will result in "some job loss across a number of our locations" across the globe on a rolling basis.

"All job-related decisions have and will be made with transparency, compassion, and respect, and in compliance with applicable laws," Pfizer added. The company did not respond to questions about which types of jobs will be eliminated at the Pearl River site in New York.

Which industries are cutting jobs?

The first nine months of the year saw over 13 million layoffs and discharges across the U.S., according to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's up slightly from the same period in 2022 and 2021 but still below the 2019 pre-pandemic rate of 16 million, USA TODAY Network reported this month.

Few industries have been spared from job cuts, with the tech industry and media reporting hundreds of thousands of layoffs this year. Health care, biotech and financial firms also faced deep job cuts.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Pfizer to lay off 285 workers at Rockland County NY campus

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