The physician Harald Matthes claims that side effects after corona vaccinations occur much more frequently than is known. But experts criticize his assessment.
Eight out of 1,000 vaccinated people are said to suffer from severe side effects after corona vaccinations. The physician Harald Matthes claims to have found this out in a study. Some vaccination side effects lasted for months, he reported to the “MDR” as an interim result of his survey. Other media also took up Matthe’s statements. However, his claims are problematic. The most important questions and answers.
What is known about the study?
Professor Harald Matthes leads the study “Safety Profile of Covid-19 Vaccines”. The aim of the study is to examine the frequency and severity of vaccination side effects. The data for the “Impf-Surv” study is generated via an online survey. The study information states that participants must answer questions about their state of health, corona infections and their corona vaccinations. The participants are questioned several times.
The study has not yet been published. In the “MDR” Harald Matthes only presented his interim results. The online survey is still ongoing. People over the age of 18 can register for the study via a link and by providing their e-mail address. So far, the study has 40,000 participants, according to the “MDR” article.
What results of the study were presented?
Harald Matthes had claimed to the “MDR” that 0.8 percent of those vaccinated suffered from serious side effects. That would be 40 times as many serious side effects after corona vaccinations as previously assumed in the figures from the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI). The PEI can report side effects related to the Covid-19 vaccines. Harald Matthes described side effects to the “MDR” that lasted for months. For example muscle and joint pain, excessive reactions of the immune system and neurological disorders
What are the criticisms of the study?
There are a few criticisms of the study: from the choice of words to the method and the status of the study.
Definition problems:
“0.8 percent ‘serious vaccination complications’ is absolutely unrealistic and dubious,” writes Leif Erik Sander, infectiologist and pneumologist at the Charité, on Twitter. This is not consistent with any of the very large international studies. “Anyone who fails to distinguish vaccination reactions from complications spreads disinformation.” The European Medicines Agency considers a serious adverse reaction to be a complication that causes death, life-threatening, hospitalization, or permanent damage (disability or disability). The definition of the American drug agency FDA looks similar.
This definition is not used in the study by Harald Matthes. He explained to “Zeit” that one was dependent on the answers of the participants. If they state that they have consulted a doctor because of complaints, they must also state whether these symptoms were potentially life-threatening. “If the answer is yes and the people also state that they have been on sick leave for at least three days, this was rated as a serious side effect by definition,” says Harald Matthes. This means that not every complaint that is classified as a serious side effect in the study is actually a vaccination complication.
No comparability:
According to Leif Erik Sander, the fact that the generally accepted definitions are not used in the study leads to another problem: It is not possible to make comparisons with study results that have already been published, as he describes to Die Zeit. In order to be able to correctly determine the actual number of complications, a second group is needed for comparison. These test persons would have to be unvaccinated or, in the best case, receive a placebo vaccination, Sander continues. The reason: During the study period, the participants can become ill. Symptoms can also occur independently of the vaccination. But only in comparison with a second (unvaccinated) group does it become clear whether the symptoms occur more frequently than normal.
Not representative:
Another problem is the study design. Harald Matthes’ statements seem as if his (interim) results could be applied to all vaccinated people. However, this is not possible. Because his online survey, in which everyone can take part voluntarily, is not representative. Because the participants should not reflect the group of vaccinated people (i.e. the basic population) as a random sample. Older people are likely to be underrepresented in the online survey. In addition, people who are skeptical about vaccinations or who have experienced serious side effects are more likely to complete such a questionnaire.
The Charité also distances itself from Matthes’ statements: “This study is an open internet survey, so not a scientific study in the narrower sense. This database is not suitable for drawing concrete conclusions about frequencies in the general population and is not suitable for generalizing to interpret,” says a spokesman for the Charité of “Zeit”.
No published results:
In addition, it is difficult to judge what Harald Matthes presents as an interim result. Without a written publication, it is not possible to assess how Mattes arrived at his estimates.
Do we need to talk more about serious vaccine side effects?
Harald Matthes tells the “Zeit” that he wants to draw attention to the fact that there are numerous people who suffer from vaccination side effects and have gone through a doctor’s marathon, but simply do not get any help. However, it is questionable whether Harald Matthes, by publishing interim results and without pointing out the limitations of his study, is contributing to patients with vaccination complications being taken more seriously.
In a large research on vaccination side effects starreporter Bernhard Albrecht concludes that there are gaps in the recording of side effects in Germany and that “some things are going under the radar”. Nevertheless, the comparison between possible side effects of the vaccination and complications of the disease clearly shows that a Sars-CoV-2 infection is far more dangerous than the vaccination.
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Source: Stern
