The Nova Scotia government has released information on deaths registered shortly after individuals received either a first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, but claims the information system doesn't track if the vaccines contributed to those deaths.

In October, a freedom of information request to the government asked for information on the following two groups, broken down by age brackets and within the time frame of December 19, 2020 to October 3, 2021:

• The number of individuals in Nova Scotia who died within 14 days (within 14 days of the first or second dose, which difference was lower) of a COVID-19 vaccine
• and the number of individuals in Nova Scotia who died as a result of a COVID-19 vaccine

Associate Deputy Health and Wellness Minister Craig Beaton returned the request, and the government's documentation clarifies that the data only includes “deaths reported as an Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) for [the] COVID-19 vaccine”, adding that while the reported deaths are “temporally association with receipt of COVID-19 vaccine (within 14 days)” it does “not mean that the individual died as a result of receiving the vaccines.”

Government Response: Six Deaths Following COVID-19 Vaccines

In response to the request for information on the first group — the number of AEFI deaths within 14 days of COVID-19 by age group — Nova Scotia recorded six deaths:

In response to the request for information on the second group — number of individuals in Nova Scotia who died as a result of a COVID-19 vaccine — the government responded with an explanation that their “information system” doesn't track causality:

The information system captures people who die after receipt of COVID-19 vaccine but does not capture causality (i.e., a death temporally associated with vaccine as opposed to causally associated vaccine).

Mandatory Vaccines For Health Care, Education Coming Soon

Starting on November 30, workers in certain sectors including civil servants, health care workers, long-term care and home care works, educators and daycare workers will be required to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination or face unpaid leave.

Premier Tim Houston and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang have put focus this week on forcing COVID vaccines on judges, who occupy a position where they are not civil servants and as such as not subject to the same policies or oversight as federal and provincial employees in the province.

Nearly 80 per cent of all Nova Scotians are considered fully vaccinated according to government tracking software.