Questions have been raised in the House of Lords about the surge in unexpected deaths in younger people, with the government urged to provide the data on which their claim that COVID-19 vaccines are safe is based.
The Conservative peer Lord Strathcarran prompted the debate by asking for the numbers of excess deaths in under-65s since the beginning of the lockdown period in 2020.
“Converting these statistics to reality means that 60,000 people died, mostly from heart-related conditions, at a much younger age than they would have been expected to before the pandemic, and in particular, our response to it,” Lord Strathcarran, a former journalist, told the House.
He asked the health minister in the Lords, Lord Evans of Rainow, to suggest to the ongoing COVID Inquiry “that rather than concentrate on the tittle-tattle of WhatsApp messages, it considers whether the lockdowns did more overall health harm than good, as evidence from around the world now suggests they did?”
Lord Strathcarran said it was imperative that the inquiry should investigate why the UK now has “according to submissions already made to it, considerably higher excess mortality than other similar countries. And in what way lockdowns and other interventions are linked to last year’s 60,000 young deaths, with more to come this year, no doubt.”
Conservative member the Earl of Leicester referred to questions raised in the Commons about vaccine safety—chiefly by MP Andrew Bridgen—and urged the minister, “To put the matter to rest, can he promise to promptly publish the data or research on which the government has relied?”
In response, Lord Evans said he could not commit to providing any such data, but would take it back to the health department. “But what I can say is that COVID vaccines are very safe, and saved millions of lives,” he said.
“Vaccines are our first line of defense and millions have received their jab in our autumn campaign.”
Lord Evans said there were various factors that could explain the excess deaths, including flu, the impact of COVID-19, and continued prevalence of conditions such as cardiovascular disease.
Other peers who spoke in the debate suggested excess deaths could be caused partly by ambulance delays, the strikes by NHS junior doctors causing increased waiting times, and lifestyle factors, including obesity.
Lord Evans said that since 2020, the government estimates that non-COVID-specific deaths were 12 percent higher than usual across all age groups, and higher still in younger people.
“Deaths for all causes in people under 65 were 13 percent higher than expected. We are acting to reduce excess deaths, including those involving COVID-19, by rolling out vaccination programmes, tackling backlogs, and through actions to tackle preventable disease like cardiovascular disease,” he said.
Mr. Bridgen, who was expelled from the Conservative Party following comments he made on the dangers of the vaccines, has persistently asked questions and organised debates in the House of Commons related to excess deaths and safety concerns over the jabs, but they have been very poorly attended by his fellow MPs.
The former Reclaim Party MP arranged an event in Parliament last month where a number of prominent scientists and other experts who have questioned the safety and efficacy of the jabs addressed a small audience of politicians, journalists, and campaigners.
MP David Davis, one of only a handful to attend, said he would ask the Office for National Statistics to provide him with a “shopping list” of data that mathematician Professor Norman Fenton said is needed in order to establish whether the jabs can truly be considered safe and effective.
