Well except for the FACT that unknown deaths in Alberta in 2021 have nothing to do with Covid vaccines. It's amazing the crap conspiracy idiots peddle. Let's read the reality...
No evidence rise in deaths due to unknown causes in Canada is linked to Covid-19 vaccines
https://fullfact.org/health/unknown-causes-not-linked-covid-vaccines/
What was claimed
In Alberta, Canada, unknown causes of death are causing even more deaths than heart disease, strokes and diabetes combined.
Our verdict
“Other ill-defined and unknown causes” was the leading recorded cause of death in Alberta, Canada in 2021. However, there is no evidence these deaths were caused by the Covid-19 vaccines.
A YouTube
video shared on
Facebook states: “In Alberta, Canada, unknown cause of death is causing even more deaths than heart disease, strokes and diabetes combined” and that in Alberta there have been “49% more deaths from unknown causes than from Covid.”
While the video does not explicitly mention the Covid-19 vaccines, it appears to imply that this increase in deaths recorded as due to unknown causes in Alberta, Canada is a result of the vaccine rollout. Many of the comments on the
video reference this, and
we’ve written about this issue previously as part of our work fact checking online misinformation
It’s true that, according to data published by
Service Alberta’s Vital Statistics database, there were 3,362 deaths in Alberta in 2021 in which “other ill-defined and unknown causes” was listed as a cause of death, making it the
leading listed cause of death in the province.
But the government there has
since clarified that some of those deaths were still under investigation and the cause of death would eventually be updated. There’s no evidence to suggest a significant number of deaths have been caused by the Covid-19 vaccines in Canada.
Deaths from unknown causes have not been linked to vaccines
While it’s true that deaths from unknown causes have not appeared as a leading cause of death in Alberta until recently, the number of deaths listed under the category
appears to have been increasing since at least 2019.
“Other ill-defined and unknown causes” first appeared on the list of leading causes of death in Alberta in 2019, when 522 deaths were recorded with the classification, with this figure almost tripling to 1,464 in 2020 and again increasing to become the leading cause of death in the province in 2021. A spokesperson for Alberta Health told Full Fact: “There is no link between this increase and the COVID-19 vaccine rollout”.
We’ve previously written about attempts to link this increase to the Covid-19 vaccines.
Following the publication of the latest data in July 2022, a spokesperson for Service Alberta minister Nate Glubish told
CTV News: “The 'other ill-defined and unknown cause of death' classification is given when a cause of death cannot be determined, or when a death is still under investigation with a medical examiner. Some deaths originally coded in this way are updated as final determination of cause of death are determined.”
He added that “this number will continue to be refined as final medical causes of death are determined”, and claimed that the number had already been revised down by 35% compared to previously published data.
Alberta Health told us that the data is always being refreshed as registrations are sometimes received for deaths that occurred many months earlier, and amendments for causes of death can occur when the cause of death is not assigned for months or even years after the death is registered. This process can be delayed further when there is an increased number of files to be assessed.
Full Fact has contacted Service Alberta to ask whether the figure of 3,362 deaths classified as having “other ill-defined or unknown causes” has been revised since this dataset was last updated on June 30, and will update this story if we hear back
Deaths from unknown causes are not the same as SADS
The video also claims that “you can also call unknown causes by another name - SADS.”
This isn’t true. SADS refers to Sudden Adult Death Syndrome—sometimes called Sudden Arrhythmic Death Syndrome.
According to the
British Heart Foundation, SADS is used to refer to deaths from cardiac arrest where the cause cannot be determined. It says: “The rhythm of your heart (which controls your heartbeat) is controlled by electrical impulses. If the electrical impulses go wrong, it can cause an abnormal heart rhythm known as an arrhythmia.
“Some arrhythmias can be dangerous if they’re left untreated, they can cause a cardiac arrest. Your heart’s rhythm and electrical impulses are no longer there after death, this means an abnormal heart rhythm can’t be found and the heart’s structure will appear normal. This is why the cause of the cardiac arrest can’t be found and SADS might be diagnosed.”
SADS is believed to occur as a result of a range of rare genetic conditions that predispose individuals to suffer cardiac arrests. It can affect people who have had
no symptoms and have previously been
fit and healthy and even taking part in competitive sports, as the video suggests.
It’s possible some deaths due to SADS may be recorded as unknown causes, but the two classifications are not interchangeable.
As we’ve previously written, there is no evidence to suggest that deaths caused by the Covid-19 vaccines are being misreported as SADS deaths. The Canadian government’s department for national health policy told
AFP Fact Check that it had seen no increase in SADS reports since the Covid-19 vaccine roll-out began.
This also appears to be the case in the UK.
The British Heart Foundation says Covid-19 vaccines are
safe for people with heart conditions and notes: “No vaccine is approved unless it is considered safe for people with long-term conditions, including heart and circulatory conditions, and including older people.”
As of 27 July 2022 the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has recorded
80 deaths from a type of blood clot in the UK that it has said
may be linked with the AstraZeneca vaccine. Seven fatal suspected cases of myocarditis and pericarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle or the surrounding tissue respectively) have been “reported associated with” the Pfizer vaccine and six with AstraZeneca,
according to the MHRA. On the myocarditis deaths, it also notes: “The majority of fatal reports describe underlying illnesses in these patients that could provide alternative explanations for the events reported.”
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Vaccines not causing unexplained deaths in Alberta, authorities say
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/vaccines...d-deaths-in-alberta-authorities-say-1.5981134
The province has acknowledged that while previous reports have indicated a higher number of unexplained deaths, there is a justifiable reason for the data.
Earlier this week,
CTV News reported on government statistics on the top causes of death in Alberta in 2021(opens in a new tab). In that report, it showed there were 3,362 Albertans who died from "ill-defined and unknown causes."
While some experts implied that that figure could be due to complications from COVID-19, the government says that isn't necessarily the case.
"The 'other ill-defined and unknown cause of death' classification is given when a cause of death cannot be determined, or when a death is still under investigation with a medical examiner. Some deaths originally coded in this way are updated as final determination of cause of death are determined," said Brett Farrell, press secretary to Service Alberta Minister Nate Glubish in an email to CTV News.
"The data on Alberta’s Open Government portal reflects the coding information provided by Statistics Canada up to June 2, 2022 – this number will continue to be refined as final medical causes of death are determined," he said.
"
This work is underway by Statistics Canada, and as of July 6th, 2022 the total number of deaths coded as 'other ill defined and unknown cause of death' in 2021 is approximately one-third (35 per cent) lower than what was previously published in the 2021 vital event datasets."
COVID DEATH DATA STILL RECORDED
Meanwhile, Alberta Health says even while COVID-19 cases are down in the province and officials have halted weekly reporting of case data, the agency is still receiving data on deaths related to the virus.
"All COVID-19 deaths are required to be reported to Alberta Health per the Notifiable Disease Guidelines," said Lisa Glover with Alberta Health.
"We receive initial information on any COVID-19 related death directly, including both primary and contributing causes. The vast majority of COVID-19 related deaths are reported to Alberta Health within a few days of the death occurring."
She says this means her ministry has access to different data than what Service Alberta and Statistics Canada are sharing.
"Alberta Health shares information transparently and promptly.
Once a week(opens in a new tab), we publicly release the deaths that were reported to Alberta Health in the previous week with COVID-19 as a contributing cause."
When it comes to vaccines, the provincial government stands by their effectiveness and adds they have not led to any more than one death in Alberta so far.
"The claim of vaccines causing death is not supported by scientific research or the global experience of COVID-19. There is no basis to suggest the 'unknown' category in the Service Alberta data contains additional (adverse event following immunization) deaths, the very low rate of death and other serious AEFIs in Alberta is consistent with the extensive published evidence," Glover said.
Instead, the province says that anyone who delays or refuses vaccination can put themselves at serious risk.
"Those who are unvaccinated are more likely to experience severe outcomes from COVID-19 infection. We continue to encourage Albertans to get every dose which they are eligible for."