On February 17th, the Glasgow Times reported that Public Health Scotland will no longer publish Covid data based on vaccination status over concerns the data is being misrepresented by “anti-vaxxers”.
The Times reports that Public Health Scotland will now shift its focus “on publishing more robust and complex vaccine effectiveness data” with Wednesday’s report being the last weekly publication to include data on infection rates among vaccinated and unvaccinated.
The announcement from Public Health Scotland came in their most recent COVID-19 & Winter Statistical Report, published on February 16, 2022. On-Page 29 the report states the following:
NOTICE OF CHANGE
From 16 February 2022, Public Health Scotland (PHS) will no longer report COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths by vaccination status on a weekly basis. PHS will continue to provide updates from the latest scientific analyses and reports on the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines. An explanation behind this decision can be found below.
Since July 2021, Public Health Scotland (PHS) have reported COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths by vaccination status in the weekly COVID-19 statistical report. These data were first published to help monitor the impact of the vaccination programme on the pandemic, impact on the NHS, and to help understand where to prioritise vaccination delivery. While PHS has stated that the data in the report should not be used as a measure of vaccine effectiveness, PHS is aware of inappropriate use and misinterpretation of the data when taken in isolation without fully understanding the limitations described below.
Due to the increasing risk of misinterpretation from growing complexities as the COVID-19 pandemic enters its second year (as described below), PHS has taken the decision to no longer report COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations and deaths by vaccination status on a weekly basis. PHS is currently reviewing the content and frequency of reporting this information. PHS will continue to communicate up to date and high quality research on COVID-19 vaccines. Evidence suggests the COVID-19 vaccine is effective at reducing the risk of a severe outcome, such as hospitalisation when infected, however no vaccine is 100% effective and some COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths may still occur, particularly in vulnerable populations.
This change, of course, comes as a surprise given that Scotland has had remarkably comprehensive and clear Covid-19 data over the past year.
As can be seen in this graph, Table 15, found on page 47 of the report, the rates of death are notably lower in the unvaccinated. In the four weeks measured from January 4th-February 8th, only 61 out of the 476 deaths were unvaccinated.
This means that of those deaths listed in this report 87% were in the vaccinated group.
For the Scottish Government and the Public Health Sector, this published information seems to make for inconvenient data.
This announcement from the PHS that future data ‘specific to vaccine status’ will no longer be posted suggests an effort to censor such pertinent information. This shift from the previous comprehensive data analysis to a less granular data set portends a lack of transparency and will further erode public trust in the Scottish health system.
This also serves to raise several questions at a time when confidence in public health systems is already plummeting.
Why is there a need for the Scottish government to conceal this data?
Does this stated position by the PHS to alter their data analysis in the future mean that when data doesn’t fit with the desired political end it will be hidden or deleted?
Is it possible that as adverse reporting systems, the VAERS system in the USA, the EudraVigilance system in Europe, and the UK’s MHRA Yellow Card system, are recording adverse events at historical rates that there is a desire to sweep this incriminating data under the rug?
As troubling actuarial data from life insurance companies is coming in, that seems to coincide with the Covid-19 injection rollouts, are governments looking to obfuscate their own mortality reports?
Has the recent court order mandating that the FDA release Pfizer Covid-19 licensure data at a rate of 55,000 pages per month, starting on or before March 1st, 2022, (instead of the requested 500 pages per month) made governments nervous as to what this data may reveal?
Taken in the context of a company with a disturbing history of fraud and corruption regarding product safety, such questions are inevitable and necessary.
Whatever the underlying motives for this decision from the Scottish Public Health Service, it will certainly not instill confidence that their data can be trusted moving forward. This is particularly egregious when done for a product that is being mandated by governments. This represents a violation not only of the spirit of openness necessary for democratic society but is also a violation of the necessities for informed consent.
