A recently shared video falsely claims that 13,627 people died and 17,794 others were left with complications after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. The post incorrectly used data from the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). The report mentions deaths, but not deaths caused by the vaccine.
This video features a text that says: "When someone thinks they should take a [needle emoji] that has already taken 13,627 lives and left 17,794 permanently disabled."
Video link:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CTNYWc4jlMg/
The person who made these posts addressed these figures from August 20, 2021 in a Twitter post posted on August 27, 2021, adding: “Of these 13,627 deaths reported as of August 20, 6,128 were reported from US states and territories or a location reported as unknown and 7.499 from foreign countries.”
However, these numbers are based only on reports entered into the VAERS reporting system, and not on actual adverse events and deaths confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Also, as shown on the (VAERS) page – vaers.hhs.gov/data.html – this database welcomes healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public to submit reports to the system. However, the website also clarifies that the data found on this website/database “may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, anecdotal, or unverifiable.”
Even from the CDC (here) states that VAERS publications are not credible and that, "Reports of adverse events to VAERS following vaccination, including deaths, do not necessarily mean that they were caused by the vaccination."
According to CDC guidelines listed on their website, reporting adverse events from COVID-19 vaccines (here), there were 6,968 reports of deaths (0,0019%) recorded from December 14, 2020, to August 23, 2021 “among people who received a COVID-19 vaccine.” It is important to note that “the FDA requires healthcare providers to report any death following COVID-19 vaccination to VAERS, even if it is unclear whether the vaccine was the cause.”
(Fact-checked article by Reuters)