Freedom of Information request on the numbers, broken down by month and age at the time of death, of vaccine related deaths covering the inclusive period 01/03/2016 to 31/05/2021 (FOI 21-680)
Published 29 December 2021
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16th July 2021
FOI 21/680
Dear
Thank you for your email dated 18th June 2021, where you asked: “What are the numbers, broken down by month and age at the time of death, of vaccine related deaths covering the inclusive period 01.03.2016 to 31.05.2021”
I can confirm that the MHRA collects reports of suspected adverse reactions to medicines and vaccines via the Yellow Card Scheme. Section 12 of the FOI Act specifies that a public authority may refuse requests where the cost of dealing with them would exceed the appropriate limit, which for central government is set at £600. This represents the estimated cost of one person spending 24 working hours in determining whether the department holds the information, locating, retrieving and extracting the information. We consider that extracting the information that you have requested will take longer than 24 working hours to complete.
As your request has been refused under Section 12 of the FOI Act, we cannot answer any part of it however we will be happy to provide a response to any refined request you send in the future. For example, you could refine your request by specifying which vaccines you are interested in. I have included a link to the current routine immunisation schedule: The routine immunisation schedule from June 2020
You may also be interested to know that the MHRA is regularly publishing Yellow Card data associated with COVID-19 vaccinations, including MHRA assessment of the data to provide context. Please note this data is updated weekly. Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine adverse reactions
I hope the information provided is helpful, but if you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date of this response; and can be addressed to this email address.
Yours sincerely, FOI Team