More Deaths Are Caused by Guns Than by the COVID-19 Vaccine in the United States
The Claim
Covid-19 vaccines have killed more people than gun-related accidents in the U.S.
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Emerging story
Social media users have recently circulated posts and photos purporting that Covid-19 vaccines have killed more people than gun-related accidents in the U.S.
One of the images being circulated reads: “JUST A QUICK REMINDER… MORE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED THIS YEAR BY VACCINES THAN THEY HAVE BY GUNS. WHERE IS THE PUBLIC OUTCRY?”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated this claim and found it to be fake.
COVID-19 VACCINE Related Deaths in the U.S.
Healthcare professionals are required by the Food and Drug Administration to report any deaths following COVID-19 vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) received 15,066 preliminary reports of deaths (0.0025%) among 591 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the United States between December 14, 2020 and June 13, 2022.
In its monitoring to date, the CDC has identified nine deaths associated with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and does not list any other confirmed deaths connected to other COVID-19 vaccines. However, VAERS reports do not imply that a vaccine caused death or adverse events.
There are disclaimers on the VAERS website stating that the reports may contain "incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable" information. Users are required to acknowledge these limitations before using the VAERS website. Most social media posts, however, fail to mention that VAERS reports can be submitted by anyone. Therefore, the findings provided by VAERS are not considered to show a causal link until they are verified by the CDC.
Photo Description: An example of the disclaimers on the VAERS website.
GUN Related Deaths In the U.S.
In 2022, the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks gun violence every year in the United States, reported 278 mass shooting deaths. There were 692 gun related deaths in 2021.
Photo Description: Data shared by the Gun Violence Archive.
Based on theses findings, Misbar confirms that the claim is fake. Gun-related deaths in the U.S exceed the number of Covid-19 vaccine related deaths.
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