Freedom of Information request about Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine fatality data (FOI-21-161)
Published 7 May 2021
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8th March 2021
Dear
Our Ref: FOI 21/161
Thank you for your email dated 7th February 2021, where you asked:
“How many UK Citizens have so far died within 28 days of receiving a ‘vaccination’ against Coronavirus?
Also do you consider the current round of injections to be vaccinations in the technically correct use of the word ‘vaccination’?”
You have asked the total number of people who have died within 28 days of receiving the Pfizer vaccine, unfortunately we do not hold this information as we do not collect complete fatality data. The Office of National Statistics may be able to help with this part of your request.
The definition of a vaccine is ‘a substance used to stimulate the production of antibodies and provide immunity against one or several diseases, prepared from the causative agent of a disease, its products, or a synthetic substitute, treated to act as an antigen without inducing the disease.’ According to this definition, a vaccine does not have to be a live, active virus, and it can be an inactivated version of the virus or a synthetic substitute. The key factor is that it stimulates the production of antibodies and provides immunity, without causing the disease itself.
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 Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines Division