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FDA Probes COVID-19 Vaccine Deaths Across Age Groups

Will the probes finally address unanswered questions about vaccine safety, or simply undermine decades of science-based regulation?
FDA Probes COVID-19 Vaccine Deaths Across Age Groups
Above: A Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at Borinquen Health Care Center in Miami, Florida, on May 29, 2025. Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Spin

Establishment-critical narrative

VAERS has received 38,472 reports of deaths following COVID-19 vaccination — including 9,252 reported on the day of or within two days of vaccination. With federal regulators now examining whether any deaths across age groups may be linked to the vaccines, the country is entering its most extensive safety review since rollout. After years of mandates and controversy, unanswered questions are finally being confronted.

Pro-establishment narrative

Global health authorities maintain that COVID-19 vaccines are thoroughly researched and that broad public health benefits outweigh rare side effects. Yet Trump-era changes have sparked fears that politics is overtaking science. Given his long record of spreading vaccine misinformation, the FDA's direction under Robert F. Kennedy Jr. risks undermining decades of science-based regulation and public trust in immunization.

Metaculus Prediction


Public Figures


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO



© 2026 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2026 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0