53 people have not died in Gibraltar because of the Covid-19 vaccine
29 January 2021
What was claimed
53 people have died in Gibraltar in 10 days after vaccinations with the Pfizer Covid-19 started.
Our verdict
As of 27 January, out of more than 11,000 vaccinated, six have died after receiving the vaccine, but there’s no evidence these deaths were related to the vaccine. 54 have died with or of Covid-19 in Gibraltar since vaccinations started on 10 January.
Claims that 53 people died in Gibraltar in the first ten days after Covid-19 vaccinations started there have gone viral on Facebook. The implication in the article seems to be that these deaths were caused by the vaccine.
Linking these deaths to the vaccine is extremely misleading as there is no evidence of this. The government of Gibraltar has confirmed that as of 27 January, 11,073 people have received their first dose of the vaccine, and of those, six have since died.
Gibraltar started vaccinating on 10 January, and on that day reported that there had been a total of 16 Covid-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Ten days later, the territory recorded a total of 53 Covid-19 deaths to date, which seems to be the source for the claim.
Putting aside the fact that 12 of these deaths had occurred by 9 January before vaccinations started, there is no evidence connecting any of these Covid-19 deaths to the vaccine.
The government has said: “Of the over 11,000 who have been vaccinated, 6 persons have since died for reasons unrelated to the vaccination and there is no evidence to link these to the vaccination in any way.”
“These 6 persons appear to have contracted COVID-19 before they were vaccinated but, despite testing for COVID-19 before vaccination, the infection had not been detected in them at the time they were vaccinated, but in the days immediately after.”
All six were aged between 70 and 100, and all but one were care home residents.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here.
For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false
because 53 people have not died after getting the vaccine on Gibraltar.
You’ve probably seen a surge in misleading and unsubstantiated medical advice since the Covid-19 outbreak. If followed, it can put lives at serious risk. We need your help to protect us all from false and harmful information.
We’ve seen people claiming to be health professionals, family members, and even the government – offering dangerous tips like drinking warm water or gargling to prevent infection. Neither of these will work.
The longer claims like these go unchecked, the more they are repeated and believed. It can put people’s health at serious risk, when our services are already under pressure.
Today, you have the opportunity to help save lives. Good information about Covid-19 could be the difference between someone taking the right precautions to protect themselves and their families, or not. Could you help protect us all from false and harmful information today?