Vaccines don’t increase deaths
Studies and scientific reviews found no association between vaccination and deaths in anyone — adults or children — except in rare cases, according to a
2015 study. More recently, following the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, a
2021 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found no increased risk for death among those vaccinated for COVID-19.
According to the
Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes Foundation, SADS conditions are genetic heart problems that can cause sudden death in young, apparently healthy, people.
Warning signs of SADS conditions include family history of sudden, unexplained death under age 40, fainting or seizure during exercise, excitement or startle, and consistent or unusual chest pain and/or shortness of breath during exercise, the SADS foundation said.
These conditions have been studied for decades, and the foundation told PolitiFact that there is "no evidence" suggesting that any of the COVID-19 vaccines cause people to develop SADS conditions, or make people’s conditions more severe.
Dr. Michael J. Ackerman, director of the Long QT Syndrome Clinic and professor of medicine, pediatrics and molecular pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine said there is not a "single signal" of increased SADS events among diagnosed and treated patients who’ve been vaccinated.
"Over two years into the pandemic, there’s been no indication in the largest programs in the world of an increase in death from these conditions," Ackerman said.
Our ruling
An Instagram post claims that an average of 29 young athletes suffered sudden death per year from 1966 to 2004, while 769 athletes have died or suffered cardiac arrest from March 2021 to March 2022, suggesting the COVID-19 vaccines have caused a spike in sudden deaths.
A study published in 2006 found that an average of 29 young athletes experienced sudden deaths over a nearly 40-year span, but there is no comparable study to weigh it against. The 769 figure is based on a collection of articles that incorporate reports of athlete deaths, cardiac arrest incidents and various incomplete anecdotes that didn’t involve any emergency medical episodes or have any confirmed connection to the vaccines.
Studies and scientific reviews have found no association between vaccination and sudden deaths, and officials with the SADS foundation, as well as sports cardiologists, say there is no evidence that suggests any of the COVID-19 vaccines cause people to experience sudden death.
We rate this False.