Study: COVID-19 vaccines have not increased mortality

A large epidemiological study conducted in France shows that COVID-19 vaccines have not caused an increase in overall mortality since their introduction in 2021. The conclusions, published by the AFP agency, strongly contradict the theories circulated by groups skeptical of vaccination. According to the researchers, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, massively used during the pandemic, "do not increase the risk of mortality from all causes in the long term," as announced in a statement by Epi-Phare, the consortium that brings together the French National Agency for Medicines Safety (ANSM) and Assurance maladie.

The study covers the period 2021-2025 and includes medical data of almost 30 million French citizens aged between 18 and 59. Of these, nearly 23 million received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while nearly 6 million remained unvaccinated. The vaccines used were predominantly those produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna - both on the mRNA platform, considered essential for immunization campaigns at the time.

The results are clear: 0.4% of vaccinated people died in the following four years; 0.6% of unvaccinated people died in the same interval.

These data indicate a mortality rate of approximately 25% higher among the unvaccinated. "We can say with a high degree of certainty that there is no increase in the risk of mortality after an anti-COVID-19 vaccine," stressed researcher Mahmoud Zureik, coordinator of the study, quoted by AFP.

• Side effects: rare, known, monitored

The safety profile of mRNA vaccines has been analyzed since the mass campaigns. Specialists confirm that serious reactions are extremely rare and are mainly associated with cardiovascular problems, such as myocarditis and pericarditis - which is why the Moderna vaccine is no longer recommended for young adults in France. However, these risks do not call into question the overall benefit of vaccination at the population level. Throughout the pandemic, vaccine skeptic groups have intensively promoted the idea that mRNA vaccines have caused "numerous hidden deaths". The Epi-Phare study debunks these claims, being the first large-scale analysis to evaluate the impact of vaccines on mortality over a four-year period. The researchers warn, however, that the study cannot state with certainty that vaccination reduced overall mortality - the differences between the groups analyzed may reflect both the benefits of the vaccines and socio-demographic factors (age, socioeconomic status, health behaviors). The study reinforces the scientific literature that claims that anti-COVID-19 vaccines have a good safety profile, including in the long term. The results are considered an essential contribution to combating disinformation, in a context in which conspiracy theories continue to circulate intensively online.