65 deaths reported after Covid vaccination

Side effects center Lareb received 65 reports of people who died after receiving a coronavirus vaccine. According to Lareb, this includes 55 people aged 80 or older, and ten people between the ages of 65 and 79 years. "All had fragile health due to a variety of serious underlying illnesses and/or advanced age," Lareb director and epidemiologist Agnes Kant said to ANP.

The deaths occurred between one and 26 days after vaccination. Kant stressed that this does not mean the death was caused by a side effect of the vaccine, but it is not impossible that side effects contributed to the deaths.

"In the Netherlands, an average of 750 to 800 people die in nursing homes and 2,000 people over the age of 80 per week, from all kinds of causes. This can of course also include people who were recently vaccinated," Kant said. After healthcare workers, the elderly and people in long-term care facilities had first priority for coronavirus vaccines. 

In the majority of the cases, underlying health problems were the most obvious explanation for cause of death. In some reports, there was no clear explanation. Lareb is getting more information in those cases. 

"For some, side effects from the vaccine may have worsened fragile health. In the days after vaccination, they developed symptoms known as side effects, such as fever, nausea and general unwellness. These complaints are not in themselves the cause of death, but they may have contributed to it," Kant said. She added that Lareb does not see any patterns of complaints that indicate serious side effects that could cause people to die. 

These figures are based on side effects reported to Lareb up to and including February 21. By that date, approximately 900 thousand coronavirus vaccines were administered in the Netherlands. 

Lareb received a total of 5,068 reports of people having side effects after being vaccinated. That translates to about 0.5 percent to 1 percent of people seeing side effects. The most common side effects include muscle pain, headache, feeling unwell, and fatigue. Reaction on the injection site, such as pain, swelling, or a feeling of warmth, were also common. These are all expected side effects. 

In most people, the side effects were minor and disappeared within a few days. There were also a few dozen reports of serious allergic reactions, like rashes and swelling around the eyes or throat.