Washington has reported its third case of a person dying after getting their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The news has since put the spotlight on the number of people dying despite being fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

Deaths Following COVID-19 Vaccination

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which is run by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently reported a case of a 17-year-old female from Washington who passed away 36 days after receiving her second Pfizer jab. She appeared to be healthy since she didn’t have allergies and pre-existing conditions.

The teen got her first dose on Sept. 3 and her second dose on Sept. 15. She previously contracted an asymptomatic (non-severe) case of COVID-19 in August but fully recovered from the infection. On Oct. 23, she showed up in the emergency department of a hospital as she was suffering from chest pain and having a hard time breathing for the past 48 hours.

While at the hospital, she suffered cardiac arrest. Medical professionals attempted to revive her using cardioversion, amiodarone, lidocaine and other antiarrhythmics, but they were unable to resuscitate her. The VAERS report indicated that her cause of death was possibly acute myocarditis. However, it was also noted that she was “feeling completely well” prior to the onset of chest discomfort on Oct. 21.

The 17-year-old’s case was the third fatality recorded by Washington involving someone who had passed away after receiving the vaccine. The second case was a 37-year-old mother of two named Jessica Berg Wilson who died on Sept. 7 due to “COVID-19 vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia,” according to her obituary. She received the Janssen vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.

The first case was a 34-year-old male who suffered cardiac arrest on June 23, eight days after receiving the Pfizer vaccine. He passed away two days later. Records showed he developed anaphylactic reaction after his vaccination on June 15. An autopsy report indicated that he was a healthy adult, while a toxicology report determined that the only contributing factor to his demise was the COVID-19 vaccine.

Deaths By Vaccine Brands

The CDC presented data on the rates of infection cases and deaths by vaccination status last month. The report indicated that unvaccinated people were at risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 by 6.1 times. They were also 11.3 times at risk of dying from the disease compared to those who have already been vaccinated.

After analyzing all the data forwarded by different health departments from various states, the CDC broke down the case and death rates by vaccine brand. Among the three brands available in the country, the J&J brand had the highest incidence rate at 171.92 cases per 100,000 people. This was followed by Pfizer’s 135.64 per 100,000 people, and Moderna’s 86.28 cases per 100,000 people.

In terms of death, the rate mirrored the breakdown of cases per vaccine brand and frequency. However, the figures were said to be far lower across the board. It was also noted that people older than 80 had the highest death rate among groups regardless if they were vaccinated or not, as pointed out by Healthcare IT News.

As of Nov. 5, the VAERS website has documented a total of 8,456 COVID-19 vaccination deaths in the country. The most number of fatalities were reported in the 75 and above age group — a total of 3,868. Strangely, the database also listed 3 cases involving children below 3 years old and 1 case for the 9 to 12 age group.

Of the total number of deaths, 10% occurred within 24 hours of vaccine administration, 15% occurred within 48 hours, and 26% occurred in people who manifested symptoms within 48 hours of vaccination. All of the deaths were reported between Dec. 14, 2020 and Nov. 5, 2021, according to Children’s Health Defense.

Does This Mean The Vaccines Are Ineffective?

Contrary to what the latest data on COVID-19 vaccination deaths may be showing, scientists and medical experts are still strongly encouraging everyone to get vaccinated amid the ongoing pandemic. A CDC spokesperson even reiterated that all COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. are “effective at preventing [severe infection].”

Compared to the number of people who benefited from the vaccines, the fatalities are quite small. As of late, 427.6 million doses have been administered in the U.S. Of the figure, 250 million accounted for Pfizer, 162 million doses accounted for Moderna and 16 million doses accounted for J&J’s Janssen vaccine.

A real-world study on more than 700,000 people conducted by The Clalit Research Institute and published in The Lancet earlier this month found that booster shots make a big difference in providing optimum protection against COVID-19 infection. The study focused on Pfizer since it was the first one to get the approval for its booster shot.

After analyzing the data, researchers found that the third dose of Pfizer’s vaccine lowered the risk of suffering severe COVID-19 by 92%, hospitalization by 93% and death by 81%. They also noted that the efficacy of the booster was similar across gender, age and even among people with comorbidities.

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