Fact-checking at the AP
"But the analysis on which Stirling bases this estimate misrepresents data published by the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics. The data shows deaths in England broken down by each person’s COVID-19 vaccination status and age. However, the data does not claim that a COVID-19 vaccine caused their death — it simply says whether or not they were vaccinated.
There are multiple other reasons Stirling’s findings are faulty, experts told The Associated Press.
Sarah Caul, head of mortality analysis at ONS, explained that while the data does track mortality rates based on vaccination status, there are more variables at play which may contribute to a loss of life.
“Other important differences between vaccinated and unvaccinated populations may remain, which can affect the mortality rates, particularly where more clinically vulnerable people have been prioritised for vaccination or where the number of people with a particular vaccination status is small,” she wrote in an email. “When most of the population is vaccinated, most deaths are in vaccinated people. Sadly, people die all the time, of all causes, regardless of vaccination status.”