A video circulating on social media claims that more than 80 Canadian doctors have “dropped dead” after receiving their fourth mandated COVID-19 vaccine.
The claim is made by US conspiracy theorist Stew Peters during an interview with his Australia-based correspondent, anti-vaccine activist Maria Zeee. AAP FactCheck has featured false claims associated with Zeee multiple times, such as here, here, here and here.
The claim is false. The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) said there is no evidence to support the claim and publicly available information from online obituaries and news reports indicate that many of the doctors died of totally unrelated causes.
While Peters doesn’t specifically claim the deaths are as a result of the vaccine, he has made similar claims before. He has also recently released a documentary called Died Suddenly, in which he claims world elites are depopulating the world through COVID vaccines.
At the 3min 2sec mark, the Facebook video jumps to Peters saying: “Over 80 for sure doctors that have just died suddenly, dropped dead after getting their fourth mandated injection. Now they’re rolling out the fifth.”
In the full video on Peters’ website, around the 3min 50sec mark, he says: “Meanwhile, we have shown repeatedly, over and over again, the faces of the young doctors at the peak of their physical condition. Now approaching 100 — over 80 for sure — doctors that have just died suddenly, dropped dead after getting their fourth mandated injection.”
As Peters talks, a letter to the CMA is shown on-screen. The full letter, from Alberta-based physician Dr William Makis, can be seen here.
Roughly halfway through the letter, it reads: “I am now providing you an update with information about 80 young Canadian doctors who died suddenly or unexpectedly since the rollout of COVID‐19 vaccines. Four more doctors have died since my previous letter, and these unexpected deaths are accelerating. You cannot continue to ignore this.”
Attached to the letter are photos of 80 doctors along with information including age and vague details of their deaths.
However, there is no evidence that any of the doctors named in the letter died of vaccine-related causes. In fact, obituaries and news reports confirm that many of the deaths were demonstrably unrelated.
For example, Dr Michael Mthandazo, listed as being in his 40s, drowned while trying to save his son from a river. Dr Richard Cartier, 60, died descending K2, the world’s second-highest mountain (his Australian teammate died alongside him).
Meanwhile, Dr Joshua Raj Kotaro Yoneda, 27, died of a rare spinal cord glioma. Dr Cintia Vontobel Padoin, 44, died of a malignant melanoma. Dr Annabella Isabella Zawada, 43, died when her SUV collided with a commercial truck.
Dr Jan Paleta, 57, died suddenly after being missing for several days. Police ruled his death was not suspicious.
Two of the deaths, Dr Christine Newman (heart attack, age 65), and Dr Leanne Dahlgren Scott, occurred within a fortnight of Canada’s vaccine rollout, which began on December 14, 2020.
Three of the listed doctors died within the same month (July 2022). Social media speculated the deaths were related to the COVID-19 vaccine. The claim has been debunked here and here. The hospital system also confirmed the deaths were not vaccine-related.
The CMA told AAP FactCheck there is no evidence to confirm or support the various theories that have circulated on social media about the deaths of the doctors.
“Some of the theories appear to rely on the CMA’s InMemoriam service as evidence,” a representative said in an email.
“The InMemoriam service is offered to CMA members so they can keep track of their colleagues and recognize their passings over time. It is provided based on information sent to the CMA and should never be viewed as an exhaustive list of physicians’ deaths or as evidence to support conspiracies surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines or other issues. The CMA continues to encourage all Canadians to be up to date with all their vaccines to prevent serious health issues.”
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), up to and including October 14, 2022, of more than 91 million vaccine doses administered in Canada there were 51,714 adverse events reported following immunisation (0.057 per cent of all doses). Of these, 10,501 were considered serious (0.011 per cent of all doses).
A total of 382 deaths have been reported following vaccination. However, as with the figures above, these reports are not necessarily causally linked to the vaccine.
Of the 382 deaths, PHAC said 116 were unlikely to be linked, 213 could not be assessed due to insufficient information and 53 are still under investigation.
The Verdict
The claim that more than 80 Canadian doctors have dropped dead after receiving their fourth mandated COVID-19 vaccine is false.
Publicly available information from online obituaries and news reports prove that many of the doctors died of totally unrelated causes.
The CMA told AAP FactCheck there is no evidence to link the deaths to the vaccine.
False – The claim is inaccurate.
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