FOI Ref: FOI/2021/2950

You asked

Please supply the following information:

1. Number of deaths in UK as direct result of the vaccine.

2. Number of serious side effect cases from all vaccines.

3. Data on vaccinated hospital cases compared to unvaccinated hospitalisations, infections and deaths

4. Data on respiratory disease hospitalisation from mask wearing.

5. Data on if wearing masks work.

We said

Thank you for your enquiry requesting deaths and hospitalisations involving the COVID-19 vaccination.

We are responsible for the production of mortality data for England and Wales, this is driven by information collected from the death certificate at death registration. National Records Scotland (NRS) and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) are responsible for statistics pertaining to Scotland and Northern Ireland. They can be contacted at foi@nrscotland.gov.uk and info@nisra.gov.uk respectively.

Deaths due to the COVID-19 vaccination

The number of deaths where adverse reaction to the vaccine was mentioned on the death certificate can be found in Table 12 of our Monthly Mortality Analysis dataset. There are currently 4 deaths registered with the aligning ICD-10 codes for this (U12.9). We do not hold this data disaggregated by brand of vaccination. The latest data available is August 2021.

Adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccination not resulting in fatality

We do not hold data on adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination that do not result in fatalities.

The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority publish the Yellow Card Scheme which records self-reported adverse reactions to vaccinations. For further information on the Yellow Card Scheme please contact info@mhra.gov.uk.

Deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status

We have published the following release Deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status, England: deaths occurring between 2 January and 2 July 2021 which is an analysis of deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status that occurred between 1 January and 2 July 2021 in England. The data are for England only, as vaccinations data for Wales is not yet available to be linked to the mortality dataset and the PHDA covers England only. Therefore, data for Wales is not held by our organisation.

This publication includes weekly age standardised mortality rates for deaths involving COVID-19 by vaccination status and a detailed analysis of deaths involving COVID-19 which occurred in fully vaccinated individuals.

This is the latest data we hold; however, we are planning a future publication as we obtain more data. The publication date will be announced on our Release Calendar.

Hospitalisations and vaccination status

We hold data on hospitalisations involving COVID-19 and vaccination, however in order to provide the requested analysis, we would need to create a complex linked bespoke dataset. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Public Authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests. We therefore consider this to be information not held.

NHS Digital may be better placed to answer your enquiry regarding COVID-19 cases in hospitals and their vaccination status. They can be contacted via email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.

COVID-19 infections and vaccination status

The COVID-19 infection survey (CIS) is a household survey which refers to the number of current COVID-19 infections within the community population; community in this instance refers to private residential households and it excludes those in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.

You can find the number of people with a new positive infection after vaccination on tab 1a in the dataset accompanying our technical article on positivity after vaccination.

For further information and an overview of all the data published across the ONS, please check our ONS COVID Insights Tool.

Public Health England publish a weekly surveillance report looks at the impact on hospitalisations, infection, vaccine effectiveness and mortality.

Hospitalisations for respiratory issues caused by masks

NHS Digital may be better placed to answer your enquiry regarding hospital admittance for respiratory issues. They can be contacted via email at enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk.

Transmission of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of facemasks

Unfortunately, we do not hold the information requested. These questions would be better placed with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and Public Health England (PHE). They can be contacted via the DHSC FOI Contact Form and wn_coronavirus@phe.gov.uk.

Deaths from respiratory illness due to mask wearing

We produce statistics for deaths which occur in England and Wales, using the information provided during the registration of a death. Cause of death is coded using version 10 of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).

Whilst there are a number of ICD-10 codes related to diseases of the respiratory system, there is no specific code for respiratory deaths that may be attributed to mask wearing.  The cause of death is usually more specific to the circumstances of the death, rather than any external factors involved in the death. Therefore we consider this information not held.

If you have any further enquiries, please contact Health.Data@ons.gov.uk.