ArticleLegal medicine (Tokyo, Japan)2022
Autopsy findings of post-COVID-19 vaccination deaths in Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, 2021.
Article in Legal medicine (Tokyo, Japan), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Autopsy findings in cases of fatal COVID-19 vaccine-induced myocarditis.ESC heart failure · 2025Pooled it
- Using forensic autopsy data to estimate the age-specific infection fatality risk of COVID-19.Epidemiology and infection · 2026Article
- Report on adverse events of COVID-19 vaccines in Iran: a comprehensive national prospective longitudinal analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- Serious adverse events following immunization and predictors of mortality associated with COVID-19 vaccination in India: a secondary data analysis of nationwide causality assessments.Therapeutic advances in vaccines and immunotherapy · 2025Article
- Re: ''Risk and benefit of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for the omicron variant by age, sex, and presence of comorbidity: a quality-adjusted life years analysis''.American journal of epidemiology · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCOVID-19 vaccines have been used across Japan since 17 February 2021, and as of 17 April 2022, 1690 deaths potentially caused by vaccine-related adverse effects have been reported to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. However, the causal relationship between vaccination and death could not be fully evaluated because of a lack of sufficient information.
methodsAutopsy cases in which deaths occurred within seven days after COVID-19 vaccination in Tokyo Metropolis and were handled by medical examiners were selected (n = 54). Age, sex, vaccine-related information, cause of death, and possible causal relationship between vaccination and death were examined.
resultsThe mean age of the deceased individuals was 68.1 years, and the study sample consisted of 34 males (63.9%) and 20 females (37.0%). Thirty-seven and six individuals received Comirnaty and Spikevax, respectively (68.5% and 11.1% respectively). The manner of death included natural (n = 43), non-natural (n = 8), and undetermined (n = 3). The most frequent cause of death was ischemic heart disease (n = 16). Regarding causal relationships, 46 cases (85.2%) did not show a causal relationship to vaccination, except for myocarditis (n = 3), thrombosis-related death (n = 4), and others (n = 1).
conclusionAlthough many cases of deaths after COVID-19 vaccination in this study showed no definite causal relationship between the vaccination and deaths, some cases showed possible adverse events such as myocarditis. Autopsies are essential for detecting vaccine-related deaths, and the Japanese death investigation system needs to be reinforced from this viewpoint.
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