- a total of 455 reports with an outcome of death were reported following vaccination. Although these deaths occurred after being vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine, they are not necessarily related to the vaccine.
- Medical case review previously used the WHO-UMC causality assessment categories to classify the status of death reports. Updated WHO guidance on causality assessment specific to vaccinations has been released. This updated user guide more accurately represents causality assessments following vaccination, so all reports with an outcome of death were updated and reclassified using the new classification system.
- Of the 455 death reports, it was not possible to assess causality for 119 reports due to missing information (not enough information to initiate causality assessment).
- Preliminary causality assessment was possible for the remaining 336 cases where there was sufficient information. Using the available information and the WHO guidance on causality assessment specific to vaccinations, we’ve determined that:
- 166 reports of death were unclassifiable due to lack of available information (not enough information to complete the preliminary assessment)
- 104 reports of death were inconsistent with causal association to the vaccine (unlikely to be linked to the vaccine)
- 62 reports of death were indeterminate (insufficient definitive evidence or conflicting evidence for causality)
- 4 deaths were consistent with causal association to immunization (see ACCA webpage)
- If additional information becomes available, cases will be re-assessed, and the causality assessment may be updated.