A Dutch study shows that excess mortality in Western countries between 2020 and 2022 did not decrease during the covid-19 vaccination campaign and the extensive lockdown policy in Western countries – on the contrary, it seems to have increased.
Dutch researchers, including those from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, analyzed data on deaths from 47 Western countries in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The goal was to look at excess mortality in the countries.
Excess mortality is assessed as the difference between the reported number of deaths in a country in a given week or month between 2020 and 2022 and the expected number of deaths in the same period under normal conditions. The researchers used the years 2015 to 2019 for comparison.
Overall, excess mortality between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2022, totaled 3,098,456, according to the study published in BMJ Public Health. Excess mortality was reported in 41 countries (87%) in 2020, 42 countries (89%) in 2021, and 43 countries (91%) in 2022.
“Serious concern”
The researchers describe the results as worrying because the excess mortality rates observed did not decrease after restrictions and vaccines were introduced.
“In conclusion, excess mortality has remained high in the Western World for three consecutive years, despite the implementation of COVID-19 containment measures and COVID-19 vaccines. This is unprecedented and raises serious concerns”, the researchers write.
Although the covid-19 vaccine was claimed to reduce the risk of severe illness and death from covid-19, there have also been reports of serious side effects, the researchers note.
“Both medical professionals and citizens have reported serious injuries and deaths following vaccination to various official databases in the Western World, such as VAERS in the USA, EudraVigilance in the European Union and Yellow Card Scheme in the UK”.
Deaths “with” covid-19 are also included in the analysis, emphasizing that mortality rates among younger people were even lower than expected before widespread use of the vaccine. Globally, the prevaccination mortality rate for people under 70 years of age was 0.07%. For children and adolescents up to 19 years of age, the pre-vaccination mortality rate was as low as 0.0003%.
Highest excess mortality in 2021
In 2021, when both mass vaccination programs and strict restrictions were in place, excess mortality was highest in the countries included in the study, with a total of 1,256,942 people. In 2022, when covid policies ended in most countries, the figure was also high, at 808,392 people.
The researchers are now calling on policymakers and government leaders to carefully examine the underlying causes of excess mortality in countries.
“During the pandemic, it was emphasised by politicians and the media on a daily basis that every COVID-19 death mattered and every life deserved protection through containment measures and COVID-19 vaccines. In the aftermath of the pandemic, the same morale should apply. Every death needs to be acknowledged and accounted for, irrespective of its origin. Transparency towards potential lethal drivers is warranted. Cause-specific mortality data therefore need to be made available to allow more detailed, direct and robust analyses to determine the underlying contributors. Postmortem examinations need to be facilitated to allot the exact reason for death. Government leaders and policymakers need to thoroughly investigate underlying causes of persistent excess mortality and evaluate their health crisis policies”, the researchers conclude.
