UK Government Wins 2-Year Battle to Conceal Data Linking COVID Shots to Excess Deaths
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From [HERE] The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is not required to publicize data that may link COVID-19 vaccines to an increase in excess deaths in the United Kingdom during the pandemic, following a ruling last week by the U.K. Information Commissioner’s Office.
The ruling, which concludes a two-year battle for the release of the data, has led to accusations of a “cover-up,” according to The Telegraph, which first reported the story.
In 2023, UsForThem, a nonprofit advocacy group, requested the data under the country’s freedom of information laws. However, UKHSA challenged the request, citing concerns that releasing the data could fuel “misinformation” and cause “distress” to the vaccine-injured.
In a statement provided to The Defender, Luke Weeks, senior communications manager at UKHSA’s press office, said:
“Protecting patient confidentiality is of critical importance. Releasing this data presented a real possibility that it could be used to identify individuals, which could result in significant distress.
“UKHSA provided a carefully anonymised version of the dataset that removed the risk of identification. We welcome the decision of the tribunal to dismiss the appeal.”
UKHSA previously told the Information Commissioner’s Office that releasing the data may lead to “distress or anger” on the part of the relatives of the deceased and that the figures might be used to fuel “misinformation” about the COVID-19 vaccines, potentially fueling vaccine hesitancy.
According to TrialSite News, UKHSA’s “single justification — fear of public reaction — is now driving intense criticism.”
Dr. Angus Dalgleish, a medical oncologist at St. George’s, University of London, called the decision to withhold the data “a ridiculous cover-up.”
“The excuse of [vaccine] confidence is patently absurd,” Dalgleish said.
Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist who is chief medical adviser to Make Europe Healthy Again (MEHA) and medical adviser to MAHA Action, said the decision to withhold the data is “appalling,” as the data “would very likely make the link between the COVID jabs and excess deaths.”
Malhotra said this is “not the first time” that U.K. government health agencies “have been involved in a cover-up.” He said the U.K.’s Department of Health and the country’s National Health Service “covered up the ambulance delays” that resulted in the 2021 death of his father, Dr. Kailash Chand, a general practitioner and former deputy chair of the British Medical Association.
‘Not having access to clear and concise data is what fuels misinformation’
TrialSite News noted that while it is impossible to claim with certainty that the data withheld by the UKHSA show a definitive link between COVID-19 vaccinations and an increase in excess deaths, “refusal to release the data suggests an unwillingness to examine the question openly.” [MORE]
