Deaths caused by the annual influenza vaccine 2016 to 2019

FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3745

You asked

​Please supply how many people have died as a result of taking the annual influenza vaccine between 2016-2019.

We said

Thank you for your enquiry.

In these circumstances a death that was a consequence of a reaction to a viral vaccine, the underlying cause would be coded under Y590: Other and unspecified vaccines and biological substances. If someone died of anaphylaxis which was a result of a viral vaccine the death would be coded as Y590 (underlying cause), with an additional secondary cause code of T886: Anaphylactic shock due to adverse effect of correct drug or medicament properly administered.

However, there is no code that exists specifically for influenza vaccinations. Therefore, the specific information requested is not held.

Deaths due to the ICD-10 code Y590 are available to extract from the NOMIS Webservice.

Information can be extracted from NOMIS by following the instructions here:

• Select the geography (England and Wales, regional or by local authority).

• Select Age - All ages or 5-year age bands.  

• Select Gender - Total or Male/Female  
• Select rates - All deaths, rates or percentage of population for example.  
• Select cause of death (ICD10 code search is available).  
• Select format (Excel or CSV for example)

We can provide information on deaths involving the Y59.0 ICD-10 code including T codes as a custom data request. Special extracts and tabulations of mortality data for England and Wales are available to order (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate). Such enquiries can be made to: Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.

The Yellow Card Scheme which is provided by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority (MHRA) may also be better placed to assist. They continually monitor the safety of any medicine or vaccine once they are approved for use. Yellow Card is a website where any member of the public or health professional can report any suspected side effect. This includes deaths, which are reported by others on behalf of the deceased person. As the information is self-reported, it means that the suspected side effects are not always proven and some of the side effects may have occurred regardless of the vaccine. They can be contacted using this form.