Monitoring safety at THL: Mortality lower after first coronavirus vaccination than among the unvaccinated

According to a follow-up study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) mortality among those who have been vaccinated is clearly lower in the three weeks following the vaccination than among those who have not been vaccinated. THL monitors mortality among those who have been vaccinated as a continuing part of normal monitoring of the safety of the coronavirus vaccinations.

THL studied mortality among the vaccinated three weeks after the first dose and compared it to mortality among the unvaccinated. 

Mortality refers to the proportion of people who have died within a specified period of time in a monitored group.

Mortality among vaccinated lower in all age groups, several factors may be involved

In the follow-up, a total of 1676 deaths were recorded by 14 August, 2021 among 3.9 million vaccinated persons within three weeks of receiving the first vaccination.

There were clearly fewer deaths in all age groups among the vaccinated than among those who had not received a vaccine. The analysis considered the background factors of those who were studied: age, gender, number of visits to health care, possible institutional care, and the month in which the monitoring took place.

“When comparing groups of similar sizes with similar factors in their background, so that there would be an average 100 deaths in a certain period among the unvaccinated, an average 43 persons would die in a corresponding group of vaccinated people. So, if we consider the background factors, the risk of death of the vaccinated within three weeks of the vaccination was less than half of that of the unvaccinated in all age groups”, says THL Senior Researcher Petteri Hovi. 

Many factors can explain the low mortality among the vaccinated immediately after the vaccinations.

“It is possible that healthy people who are in good condition are taking the vaccines more actively than others. Vaccinations are also generally not given to those who are in hospice care, living the last weeks or months of their lives”, Hovi points out.

Statistics Finland will release information next year on the causes of death of people who died in 2021, making it possible to analyse causes of the deaths. About 55,000 people die in Finland each year, which amounts to about 150 deaths each day. A death that occurs after a vaccination does not mean that there would be causation between the vaccination and the death.

THL is constantly monitoring the safety of the coronavirus vaccines by examining information in health care registers. Information about a total of 5.6 million people living in Finland is included in the monitoring effort at present.

Further information:

Petteri Hovi
THL
Senior Researcher
[email protected]