Mooching around the possible harms of Comirnaty, the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, we came across the list of recognised harms cited by the NHS Business Services Authority. These recognised harms and the degree of disability made the unfortunate subjects eligible for compensation.
We highlighted the list here.
Okay, all clear. Next, we checked the list against the one in the MHRA product leaflet.
Helpfully, the MHRA provides an estimate of incidence from very common to very rare. When we compared the two lists, we encountered some extraordinary discrepancies. Six events, ranging from life-threatening (anaphylaxis, thrombocytopenia, convulsions, etc.) to relatively minor (otitis externa), are missing from the MHRA list.
We do not know why, but it appears strange that two public bodies are at odds on something so important.
Neither of us smoke, so we did not have a fag packet at our disposal, but we made some quick calculations based on the estimated incidence.
If there is no question or a high likelihood of Comirnaty causing some nasty cardio-itis (both lists agree), then the adverse effect would have taken place with around one exposure (which is different from ‘people’).
‘People’ is a vague term we do not like as it could hide a dose-response (the data Dame Jenny Harries refused to share with MPs). You will recall that she stated the rationale for her refusal as commercially sensitive. Dose-response is simply the more times you are injected, the higher the risk of whichever of the outcomes on the lists you are looking at. Hiding data from MPs and the public is an extraordinary act which undermines the public‘s confidence.
So on the back of a fag packet, we estimated how many doses of Comirnaty were given in England based on NHS data here. Because we could not find coverage data by vaccine (commercially sensitive again?), we assumed Pfizer’s to be 80% of the vaccines given since March 1st 2021, around the time of the demise of the AstraZeneca vaccine (and some of its recipients).
So we came to the estimate of 119,781,314 doses of Comirnaty used since March 2021.
So?
Once we have the estimate of vaccines used and the incidence of adverse events according to the MHRA, we can calculate the total number expected to be affected in the population.
So, if Bell’s Palsy occurs in one in 1,000 people or exposures, that’s 120,000 cases.
If nasty cardio-itis occurs in one in 10,000, that’s 12,000 cases of nasty variety cardio-itis.
So, could these exposures have something to do with the 100,000 excess cardiovascular deaths since the beginning of the pandemic?
Seemingly rare events accrue substantially when the whole population is exposed. Geoffrey Rose’s population strategy created the idea of treating the population as if it were a patient. In this way, you can estimate the number of people affected by minimal risks at the individual level.
The more you hide stuff, the more suspicious people get. We haven’t come across estimates of the population-level effects of vaccines. Finding the correct data to inform how many people took which vaccines isn’t straightforward. So, if we have made incorrect assumptions for lack of a fag packet, if we are mistaken, if our calculations are wrong, please put us right.
This post will not self-destruct or self-delete. It isn’t an experiment, won’t flip-flop, and isn’t commercially sensitive. It is not Teflon coated, nor will it do a bunk. You will not incur a fixed penalty notice if you choose not to read it and will not wait three years to read it. You should be aware that a single person differs from a large population; if you do not know how to add, return to school (or join the MHRA).
Dr. Carl Heneghan is the Oxford Professor of Evidence Based Medicine and Dr. Tom Jefferson is an epidemiologist based in Rome who works with Professor Heneghan on the Cochrane Collaboration. This article was first published on their Substack, Trust The Evidence, which you can subscribe to here.
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