BMJ Public Health retracts COVID-19 excess mortality study

BMJ Public Health has retracted a 2024 study that analyzed excess mortality across 47 Western countries between 2020 and 2022. The original paper noted more than three million excess deaths during this period and suggested that COVID-19 vaccines appeared to be responsible for a large number of “suspected adverse events.”

The journal issued the retraction stating that the discussion of mortality causes “lacks rigour, and includes misinformation.” While the retraction does not necessarily invalidate the raw excess-mortality estimates, it specifically challenges how the authors discussed the potential causes of those deaths.

An institutional probe by the Princess Máxima Center, where three of the four authors were employed, found no evidence of data fabrication, falsification, or malicious intent. However, the probe noted the paper gave “disproportionate attention” to the possibility that vaccination and containment measures contributed to the mortality rates. Lead author Dr. Saskia Mostert has since resigned from the center. Some independent experts have criticized the retraction, suggesting it may set a “terrible precedent” regarding political pressure on scientific research.