BMJ Public Health Retracts 2024 Vaccine-Deaths Paper After 2-Year Misinformation Dispute
Updated
Updated · Scientific American · Aug 12
BMJ Public Health Retracts 2024 Vaccine-Deaths Paper After 2-Year Misinformation Dispute
3 articles · Updated · Scientific American · Aug 12
Summary
BMJ Public Health withdrew a May 2024 paper used to suggest COVID-19 vaccines caused deaths, saying its discussion spread misinformation about excess-mortality causes and failed to describe the study’s limits clearly.
A January 2025 institutional report published with the retraction found no misconduct by two authors but cited “carelessness, ignorance and negligence” and said the article disproportionately emphasized vaccines and lockdowns while ignoring alternative explanations.
Two authors and the Princess Máxima Center requested retraction over risks of public misinterpretation, though they rejected the journal’s finding of misinformation; lead author Saskia Mostert and a fourth author opposed the move.
Ariel Karlinsky, whose mortality dataset underpinned the analysis, had pressed for retraction since June 2024, alleging misuse of his data and possible plagiarism, and criticized the journal for taking more than two years to act.
The paper had been cited 21 times, ranked in Altmetric’s top 5% of research outputs, and was cited at a recent U.S. Senate hearing, underscoring how disputed COVID-19 vaccine claims can persist in public debate.