Vaccine opponents are circulating a recent study that claims to have found a decrease in life expectancy following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. The study assessed death from any cause in people who were unvaccinated and those who had received one or more vaccine doses, finding that a higher number of vaccine doses corresponded with a higher death risk.
Messaging may highlight that similar claims about vaccination decreasing life expectancy were debunked in 2023. Messaging may also note that, in the new study, both age and instances of pre-existing conditions were slightly higher in the vaccinated population than in the unvaccinated population, which may have increased the risk of death in the vaccinated group. This is because people who are at higher risk are also more likely to get vaccinated. The study also included only a limited number of risk factors in its analysis of death risk, which may skew the results. Large global studies have found a link between COVID-19 vaccination and lower mortality.
