FOI Ref: FOI/2021/2730
You asked
Please supply the number of childhood vaccinations administered and the number of deaths caused by childhood vaccinations between the years 2010 and 2020
We said
Thank you for your request.
We only hold mortality statistics for England and Wales. For Scotland and Northern Ireland data you will need to contact National Records of Scotland and Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Centre, respectively.
We do not hold information relating to the administering of vaccinations. For statistics on uptake of vaccination, please contact NHS Digital.
Our mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration. All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
We can identify deaths where adverse reaction to a vaccine was recorded as the underlying or contributory cause of death. There are a range of different ICD-10 codes in relation to adverse reaction to vaccines, these are available via the ICD-10 online lookup.
Mortality statistics by underlying cause of death (ICD code) and 5-year age group, for England and Wales, are available via NOMIS. This is an interactive web service that provides death registration statistics (numbers and rates) for England and Wales, with data for the period 2013 to 2020, by age group, sex, underlying cause of death and area of usual residence. To create tabulations in NOMIS, please follow these instructions:
- 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)
If it is more convenient, data for England and Wales from 2010 to 2020, for child deaths relating to adverse reactions to vaccinations may be available to commission as bespoke analysis. Such services would be subject to legal frameworks, disclosure controls, resources and agreement of costs. If you would like to request this bespoke dataset, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk to discuss your enquiry further. Please note, these services fall outside of the Freedom of Information regime and there may be a charge for this work which would be subject to our charging policy.
Lastly, you can find the number of deaths involving adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccination (not restricted to the first or second wave) in Table 12 of our Monthly Mortality Analysis dataset,. However, this is not split by age group. There are currently 4 deaths registered with the aligning ICD-10 codes for this (U12.9). The latest data available is for June 2021.
You can also find figures for the period December 2020 to June 2021, published by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), here.
If you have any further questions about this information, please contact health.data@ons.gov.uk.