FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3715
You asked
According to the Yellow Card reporting scheme, there have been approximately 2,000 UK deaths from COVID-19 vaccinations.
Please supply the following information:
A) The number of deaths attributed to each of the 4 UK countries.
B) The split between male and female deaths.
C) The split across the age ranges from under 18s to 90 plus.
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
Deaths involving the COVID-19 vaccination
We are responsible for the provision of mortality statistics for England and Wales. National Records Scotland (NRS) and the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. Therefore, we do not hold the requested data for the whole of the UK. Should you wish to obtain this data from NRS and NISRA, they can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.
Our data is derived from the death certificate, using information received at the point of death registration. For the vaccine to be mentioned on the death certificate the medical professional certifying the death must have believed, to the best of their knowledge, that the vaccine was part of the events that led to the death. Deaths reported as due to or involving the COVID-19 vaccination are recorded using ICD-10 code U12.9. We do not receive information on the brand of vaccination administered.
We report deaths attributed to adverse reaction to the COVID-19 vaccination monthly within our Monthly Mortality Analysis. The latest data available is December 2021.
There are currently 15 deaths registered in England and Wales with the aligning ICD codes for this, 10 of these deaths have ICD-10 U12.9 as the underlying cause.
However, please note that these are deaths across all age groups since the rollout of the vaccination in December 2020 and there are no deaths registered under the age of 35.
This data will be updated for January on 23 February 2022.
More information regarding the difference in ONS data to Yellow Card scheme data can be found in this blog: How many people have died as a result of a COVID-19 vaccine? | National Statistical (ons.gov.uk).
Yellow Card scheme
With regards to data reported on the Yellow Card Scheme. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority's (MHRA) role is to continually monitor the safety of any medicine or vaccine once they are approved for use. Yellow Card is a website where any member of the public or health professional can report any suspected side effect. This includes deaths, which are reported by others on behalf of the deceased person. As the information is self-reported, it means that the suspected side effects are not always proven and some of the side effects may have occurred regardless of the vaccine.
MHRA are better placed to answer your enquiry regarding this data, they can be contacted using this form .