fact finder
Status: 08/26/2021 11:46 a.m.
Russian propaganda is in a strategic quandary: while the state broadcaster RT is fueling fear of corona vaccinations in Germany, the vaccination campaign is being advertised in Russia.
By Patrick Gensing, editorial office at ARD-faktenfinder
What the Russian state broadcaster RT DE reports sounds alarming. With Covid-19 vaccinations more than twice as many side effects were reported “as in the last 20 years”. It refers to all reported side effects with other vaccines. The novel vaccines against Covid-19 would be presented as safe “in a continuous loop”, writes an RT author – but it has nothing to do with reality. “The database of the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) responsible for vaccines reveals the opposite.” Allegedly.
The following cites various figures that are actually found in PEI reports. This is how the PEI records in his most recent safety report a total of 131,671 reports of suspected side effects between December 27, 2020 and July 31, 2021. Between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2020, however, “for all vaccines used together 54,488 reported side effects – less than half as many the COVID-19 vaccinations “has been reported.
Numbers without context
The PEI however, expressly refers to itthat these figures are suspected cases; a causal connection has not been proven. Furthermore, conclusions about the amount or severity of the events actually occurred are not possible. Rather, the data listed require medical interpretation and should “in no way be viewed as a substitute for medical information about possible side effects”.
Furthermore, experience shows that “serious side effects after administration of a new vaccine or vaccine that is the focus of attention are reported more frequently” than after administration of vaccines that have been on the market for some time. One could therefore assume that “the general attention paid to new drugs is higher overall than to established drugs” – an assumption that is particularly likely to apply to Covid-19. Because a comparable situation to the current pandemic and the diverse debates about the vaccination campaigns cannot be found in the past few decades.
Report side effects via the app
Add to this the fact that reporting suspected side effects has never been easier. In Germany, vaccinated people can report possible side effects via app, on various websites or in pharmacies. The PEI SafeVac app was downloaded more than 100,000 times on Google Play alone. Serious suspected cases have to be reported anyway. In addition, vaccination opponents are encouraged to report possible side effects on blogs, in Facebook groups and Telegram channels, and link lists with the corresponding options for reporting are disseminated.
The number of reports does not say anything concrete about the actual risk of a vaccine, much less about the severity. Rather, the aim of this system is to ensure that even very rare side effects can be recognized. Therefore, the reported suspected cases are only the basis for further analyzes and risk assessments.
Risk of death extrapolated
However, RT DE does not dwell on such details, but asks in a subheading whether there is a “45 times higher risk of death than after previous vaccinations”? The author of the Russian state broadcaster explains: “While the PEI had registered a total of 456 deaths between 2000 and 2020 after the administration of a vaccine, it had already reported 1254 deaths in the course of the Covid-19 vaccinations.”
However, it says in the report of the institutethat the cited “1254 deaths” are suspected cases “of a fatal outcome at different intervals from the vaccination. In 48 cases, the Paul Ehrlich Institute considers a causal connection with the respective Covid-19 vaccination” to be possible or probably “. Most of these were thrombosis cases. RT DE mentions this restriction, but explains that the informative value is” relatively low “.
“No signal for increased mortality”
Since a very large number of people have now been vaccinated, statistical estimates can also help to analyze the risk. Based on data from the Federal Statistical Office with 982,453 deaths in 2020 in people aged 12 and older, based on 73,918,151 residents in this age group, the so-called observed-versus-expected analysis “shows no signal for an overall increase Mortality after administration of Covid-19 vaccine, “said the PEI on request. Furthermore, these suspected cases are related to more than 90 million vaccinations.
At the beginning of the vaccination campaign, RT reported on an alleged “vaccination massacre” in Norway, and the activities of the so-called “Corona Committee” are repeatedly reported in detail. The report on the number of side effects from vaccinations is currently shared thousands of times, including by AfD associations and corona deniers, as an analysis with “CrowdTangle” shows. Analyzes also show that the Russian state broadcaster is one of the most divided sources among “lateral thinkers”.
Sow doubts abroad, apply domestically
The numbers of suspected side effects reported out of context are also being disseminated en masse. While RT presents the vaccinations to the German public as risky and obviously wants to stir up fears, the coverage of the vaccination campaign with regard to Russia is often different. For example in one post advertised more vaccinations in Russia on RT’s English-language site as it was a surefire way to protect yourself against Covid-19. There is more than enough vaccine, people just have to accept the offers.
Another report from June stated that only ten percent of people in Moscow had been vaccinated so far. The causes are probably distrust and skepticism towards the vaccine. In the pandemic, Russia is fighting precisely against the doubts that its own state broadcaster is apparently supposed to sow abroad – and is therefore in a strategic dilemma.