It’s been less than a year since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended two new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines — yet CDC data and the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) already show reports of 34 deaths, 302 serious adverse events and according to news reports this week, a safety signal for Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS).
Reported cases include several instances of severe adverse events in newborns, including the death of a 27-day-old baby who was wrongly administered the vaccine, and in pregnant women and people in age groups for which the RSV vaccines were not approved.
According to CDC data, approximately 9.65 million RSV vaccine doses — 6.58 million Arexvy doses and 3.06 million Abrysvo doses — were administered as of Feb. 16.
Members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) presented the data on deaths and adverse events related to the RSV vaccines at a Feb. 29 meeting.
Yet, ACIP — and news media reports — primarily focused on GBS safety signals, glossing over deaths and the administration of the vaccines to unauthorized age groups.
Instead, CDC officials claimed it’s too early to determine if the RSV vaccines caused the adverse events and reiterated that the shots are safe, according to The Associated Press (AP).
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Brian Hooker, Ph.D., chief scientific officer for Children’s Health Defense (CHD), said “34 deaths in 10 months should be sufficient to pull the RSV vaccines from the market. But the FDA will not do that — nor will there be full investigations regarding these deaths.”
“I am greatly concerned with the excessive application of the RSV vaccine,” said cardiologist Dr. Peter McCullough. “We are beginning to see the tip of the iceberg in terms of serious side effects.”
According to the CDC data presented at the Feb. 29 ACIP meeting, of the 34 deaths reported as of Feb. 16 following RSV vaccination, 22 were linked to Arexvy and nine to Abrysvo. In three instances, the report listed “no brand name.”
Yet, discrepancies in the data are evident, as the public-facing VAERS database indicates only 29 RSV vaccine-related deaths as of Feb. 23. And according to Albert Benavides, founder of VAERSAware.com, three more “hidden” deaths reported after RSV vaccines are listed in VAERS, but the vaccine name is unlabeled.
Benavides, who identified discrepancies and contradictions in VAERS data and has called attention to the existence of two parallel VAERS databases — one that is public-facing and one that is not — said, “It is simply gross and despicable the CDC and FDA are allowed to pass off this data obfuscation as pharmacovigilance.”
He added: “VAERS administration is simply not publishing all legitimate reports received.”
According to Benavides, other deaths likely related to RSV vaccination are “hidden” within VAERS, with details such as the vaccine name listed as “unknown” in some reports.
According to The New York Times, GBS causes the immune system to attack the nerves, leading to paralysis and death in severe cases. According to AP, “An estimated 3,000 to 6,000 people develop G.B.S. in the U.S. each year,” mostly older adults.
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“Given that the RSV vaccine was first approved in the U.S. on May 3, 2023, the number of VAERS reports for GBS, death and atrial fibrillation are indeed startling,” Hooker said.
According to VAERS, 34 GBS cases related to RSV vaccination were recorded. Most were in the 65-79 age group, but at least two cases were reported in people under age 60, even though the RSV vaccines are not approved for those age groups. CDC data presented at the Feb. 29 ACIP meetings said 23 GBS reports have been “verified.”
From these “verified” reports, 15 involved Abrysvo, 14 patients were male, seven received a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time they received the RSV shot, the median age was 71 and one patient died.
In one instance, a 6-month-old girl from California received Abrysvo and several other vaccines at a military site on Nov. 30, 2023. She sustained “life threatening” cardiac arrest. The RSV vaccine “was given by mistake,” according to her VAERS report.
Experts noted the contradiction of CDC officials identifying safety signals from VAERS, after a Feb. 15 U.S. House of Representatives hearing where CDC and FDA officials downplayed the role of VAERS in the detection of safety signals.