This is according to a data set that was published by the Office for National Statistics on “deaths by vaccination status in England" from January 1 to October 31, 2021. The data, which was originally released in December, was initially difficult to interpret because it listed “monthly age-standardised mortality rates by age-group in vaccination status for deaths per 100,000 person-years” but only listed data for people aged 18 and over, which meant comparisons were difficult to make. However, additional information released by the ONS provides enough data on the deaths seen in children and teenagers by vaccination status to make this calculation.
For children aged 15 to 19, the risk of death of all causes rises by 82 percent after receiving the first shot and by 226 percent after getting the second shot. For those aged 10 to 14, however, the situation is even worse, with the risk of dying rising by 885 percent following the first jab and 5105 percent after the second dose. In other words, children aged 10 to 14 who have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine were 10 times more likely to die during the period studied, while those who had received two doses were 52 times more likely to die.
For many children, the risks of COVID vaccines outweigh the benefits
Given the relatively low risk of young people experiencing severe COVID-19, this data suggests that the risks for many children of getting the vaccine outweigh the benefits provided. In fact, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the UK government on its immunization programs, found that the individual health benefits from the vaccine were small in children aged 12 to 15 while acknowledging “considerable uncertainty regarding the magnitude of the potential harms.”
As a result, the JCVI said that the benefits were simply too small to support a universal vaccination program among 12- to 15-year-olds who are otherwise healthy.
This sentiment is echoed by Dr. Mike Yeadon, a former vice president and chief scientist of allergy and respiratory for Pfizer. He warned last year that children were 50 times more likely to be killed by the vaccine than by the virus that it aims to protect against. According to Yeadon, the mRNA gene technology that is used in vaccines like Pfizer’s to trigger the body to create spike proteins is a “fundamental problem” that has been plaguing scientists for years and can lead to health problems such as blood clots.
Moreover, given the fact that young people generally do not experience the worst outcomes of the virus, he said that “it’s a crazy thing to vaccinate them with something that is actually 50 times more likely to kill them than the virus itself.”
Of course, that calculation now appears to be an underestimate, if the ONS statistics are anything to go by. And while it’s certainly possible that some of these results are due to the fact that the vaccination campaign in the UK among youth began with those who had the highest mortality risk – and were therefore more at risk of dying anyway – one leading expert is now insisting that the UK is past the point where vaccinating young people will make a difference.
University of East Anglia Professor of Medicine Paul Hunter said most children there have already had the disease and most did not become seriously ill. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said that infection rates are now falling very quickly among children, adding: “We haven’t seen that vaccines have actually done a huge amount to stop these [school] interruptions, so I think the benefits are marginal, and it’s probably too late because most kids have already had Omicron.”
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