At least 273 people have died after being vaccinated for COVID-19 as of January 22, according to U.S. government data released on Friday. The deaths were reported to VAERS, the vaccine injury tracking system for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
A total of 9,845 adverse events possibly linked to the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna have been recorded by VAERS so far, although the actual number of cases is likely far higher.
VAERS, a voluntary surveillance system, picks up only around 1% of vaccine injuries, a 2010 report by Harvard researchers found.
More than 25 million Americans have received doses of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna shots, which were authorized for emergency use last month after less than a year in development. The vaccines, which are still technically experimental, do not purport to prevent asymptomatic COVID-19 infections or to last longer than one year. At least one congressman already has tested positive for the virus after getting both doses of the Pfizer shot. Read more…