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  • 2021-06-30 (xsd:date)
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  • Australian social media users misrepresent Covid-19 vaccination data (it)
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  • Multiple social media posts claim there were more than 300 Covid-19 vaccine deaths in Australia and just one death from the virus itself in the first half of 2021. The posts, shared on Facebook and Instagram, attributed the figure to Australia's medical regulator. This is misleading: the data in the graphic misrepresent actual figures on Covid-19 vaccinations released by the nation's medical regulator on June 24, 2021. The misleading graphic was shared on Instagram on June 26, 2021. The post claims there were 313 Covid-19 vaccine deaths and 24,000 adverse events in Australia between January 1 and June 20, 2021. There was just one death from the virus itself during the same period, the post claims. The graphic bears the logo of the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) , Australia’s regulatory authority for medicines. It cites a TGA safety report from June 24, 2021 as the source of the data. The stats are in ... Feel free to distribute the materials to your local community to raise awareness. This must stop! the Instagram post's caption reads. Australia has recorded a total of just over 30,000 cases and 910 deaths in a population of about 25 million since the pandemic began. It has been broadly successful in eliminating local transmission but it is now battling flare-ups of the highly contagious Delta variant -- which first emerged in India. Public anger has been growing at the slow pace of vaccinations. Less than five percent of adults are believed to have received both vaccine doses. The graphic appeared on Facebook here and here; as well as on Instagram here alongside a similar claim. The posts, however, are misleading. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said it did not issue the graphic. The alleged posting particularly of the false information of the death counter from ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ with the Department’s and TGA’s apparent endorsement is particularly concerning, a TGA spokesperson told AFP. AFP debunked a similar graphic that was falsely attributed to the agency here . Misrepresented data The posts misrepresent figures in a TGA weekly safety report published on June 24, 2021 . According to the update, the TGA had received 318 reports of deaths in people who had recently been vaccinated since the beginning of Australia’s vaccine rollout. The TGA says it investigates each death to establish whether there was a direct link with the vaccine. By chance, some people will experience new illnesses or die from a pre-existing condition shortly after vaccination, especially if they are elderly, it says on its website . Two of the 318 reported deaths were likely linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, the agency said. This related to the deaths of a 52-year-old woman and a 48-year-old woman who developed rare blood clots after receiving the jab. The deaths prompted the government to restrict the AstraZeneca shot to those over 60 , up from a previous ban on under-50s introduced in April. Adverse events The TGA report states it received 31,641 reports of adverse events from recently-vaccinated people to June 20, 2021. However, these are mostly mild side effects such as headache, muscle and joint pain, chills and injection site reactions. These expected vaccine adverse events account for around 75% of all COVID-19 vaccine adverse events reported to the TGA, the spokesperson said. The graphic correctly states that one person died from Covid-19 in Australia between January 1 and June 20, 2021. The death was of an 80-year-old man during hotel quarantine in Queensland, as ABC News reported here . (en)
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