Salvaging the COVID-19 Vaccine Narrative
Dr. Regina Watteel | Many countries worldwide have experienced excess all-cause mortality (ACM) that coincides temporally with the COVID-19 mass vaccination campaigns. In a seeming attempt to salvage the “safe and effective” narrative, several studies have emerged to counter the conjecture that the COVID-19 vaccines may increase mortality risk. A recent preprint out of Norway (Dahl et al., 2024) presents one such study. | The authors compare the all-cause mortality rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals aged 18 years or older living in Norway during January 1, 2021 through to December 31, 2023. The study used individual-level data where individuals were categorized as either unvaccinated (received no doses), partially vaccinated (received one or two doses) or fully vaccinated (received three or more doses) from the date of vaccination and onwards. Based on their analysis, the authors conclude that vaccinated individuals had a lower rate of all-cause death during 2021-2023 in Norway, even after accounting for sex, calendar time, county of residence and a high-risk health indicator. The authors cite several other supporting studies that have concluded there was no observed increase in all-cause mortality in vaccinated individuals.