Alert level: yellow OPQ: Q-223 Session: 451 Suggested file name: Order_deaths_and_autopsies_Sep_2025 Tabled on: Agencies: PHAC Estimated questions: 6 Estimated responses: 3 Original filename: Q-223 (Order), deaths and autopsies, Sep 2025.pdf External links / references: https://vaccineinjurysupport.ca/en/program-statistics https://www.soutienvictimesvaccination.ca/fr/statistiques-du-programme Extracted PDF text preview: ORDER/ADDRESS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS ORDRE/ADRESSE DE LA CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES Q-223 Dean Allison (Niagara West) Jun 18, 2025 / Le 18 juin 2025 RETURN BY THE LEADER OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS DÉPÔT DE LA LEADER DU GOUVERNEMENT À LA CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES Mr. Lamoureux PRINT NAME OF SIGNATORY INSCRIRE LE NOM DU SIGNATAIRE SIGNATURE MINISTER OR PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY MINISTRE OU SECRÉTAIRE PARLEMENTAIRE September 15, 2025 / Le 15 septembre 2025 (TABLED FORTHWITH /DÉPOSÉ AUSSITÔT) INQUIRY OF MINISTRY DEMANDE DE RENSEIGNEMENT AU GOUVERNEMENT PREPARE IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH MARKING "ORIGINAL TEXT" OR "TRANSLATION" PRÉPARER EN ANGLAIS ET EN FRANÇAIS EN INDIQUANT "TEXTE ORIGINAL" OU "TRADUCTION" QUESTION NO./NO DE LA QUESTION Q-223 BY / DE Dean Allison (Niagara West) DATE June 18, 2025 Reply by the Minister of Health Réponse du ministre de la Santé Signed by Maggie Chi PRINT NAME OF SIGNATORY INSCRIRE LE NOM DU SIGNATAIRE SIGNATURE MINISTER OR PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY MINISTRE OU SECRÉTAIRE PARLEMENTAIRE QUESTION With regard to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine safety and efficacy: (a) has Health Canada reviewed the peer -reviewed, published scientific article by Hulscher N, Alexander P E., Amerling R, Gessling H, Hodkinson R, Makis W et al. titled “A Systematic Review Of Autopsy Findings In Deaths After COVID-19 Vaccination”, Science, Public Health Policy and the Law. 2024 Nov 17; v5.2019-2024; (b) what is Health Canada’s assessment of the study referred to in (a); (c) which department or agency makes the final determination about causality when a family member makes a vaccine injury death claim through the Vaccine Injury Support Program; (d) how many death claims relating to the COVID-19 vaccines have been made to the Vaccine Injury Support Program to date; (e) how many death claims relating to the COVID-19 vaccines have been accepted as being causally related; (f) how many death claims relating to the COVID-19 vaccines have been paid through the Vaccine Injury Support Program and what is that total amount paid out; (g) is an autopsy required in the case of a vaccine injury death claim; (h) if the answer to (f) is affirmative, what specialized immunohistochemistry is required to prove causation in the event of an mRNA vaccine injury death; (i) has Health Canada considered mandating autopsies with appropriate immunohistochemistry staining for sudden deaths; and (j) for the years 2019 to 2024, what is the excess all-cause mortality, broken down by year and reason for mortality? REPLY / RÉPONSE ORIGINAL TEXT TRANSLATION TEXTE ORIGINAL TRADUCTION Health Canada & Public Health Agency of Canada (a) has Health Canada reviewed the peer-reviewed, published scientific article by Hulscher N, Alexander P E., Amerling R, Gessling H, Hodkinson R, Makis W et al. titled “A Systematic Review Of Autopsy Findings In Deaths After COVID-19 Vaccination”, Science, Public Health Policy and the Law. 2024 Nov 17; v5.2019-2024; (b) what is Health Canada’s assessment of the study referred to in (a); Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) are aware of this article and have not reviewed it as it was quickly criticized by leading experts and subsequently retracted by the journal’s Editors-in-chief (publication, available in English: “Withdrawn: A systematic review of autopsy findings in deaths after COVID-19 vaccination”) for the following reasons: • Inappropriate citation of reference; • Inappropriate design of methodology; • Errors, misrepresentation, and lack of factual support for the conclusions; and • Failure to recognise and cite disconfirming evidence. Health Canada and PHAC continuously monitors peer-reviewed literature for research on vaccine safety among many other topics and will review all relevant new and re-published articles from legitimate sources. (c) which department or agency makes the final determination about causality when a family member makes a vaccine injury death claim through the Vaccine Injury Support Program; The Vaccine Injury Support Program (VISP) is administered independently by an arms-length, third- party organization which oversees all aspects of claim intake and assessment as well as medical board reviews for all claims, including those submitted by authorized representatives (e.g. family members) following a death. No government department or agency is involved in the adjudication or determination of claims. X - 2 - (d) how many death claims relating to the COVID-19 vaccines have been made to the Vaccine Injury Support Program to date; (e) how many death claims relating to the COVID-19 vaccines have been accepted as being causally related; (f) how many death claims relating to the COVID-19 vaccines have been paid through the Vaccine Injury Support Program and what is that total amount paid out; The Vaccine Injury Support Program is managed independently and at arm’s length from PHAC in compliance with privacy laws and policies which dictate PHAC not receive information regarding injury type or outcome. As a result, PHAC does not request nor receive any information regarding individual claims. Statistics on the Vaccine Injury Support Program are available at https://vaccineinjurysupport.ca/en/program-statistics. (g) is an autopsy required in the case of a vaccine injury death claim; (h) if the answer to (f) is affirmative, what specialized immunohistochemistry is required to prove causation in the event of an mRNA vaccine injury death; The third-party administrator of the Vaccine Injury Support Program collects required medical documents directly from the province or territory, or from the medical institution from which the patient received medical care. The program administrator is responsible for ensuring medical experts conduct causality assessments based on accepted industry practices to determine if there is a probable causal relationship between an injury and a vaccine. (i) has Health Canada considered mandating autopsies with appropriate immunohistochemistry staining for sudden deaths; Health Canada does not hold jurisdiction over the policies and procedures related to autopsies. The regulation of autopsies is the responsibility of the provinces and territories. (j) for the years 2019 to 2024, what is the excess all-cause mortality, broken down by year and reason for mortality? Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada will respond to this question. INQUIRY OF MINISTRY DEMANDE DE RENSEIGNEMENT AU GOUVERNEMENT PREPARE IN ENGLISH AND FRENCH MARKING "ORIGINAL TEXT" OR "TRANSLATION" PRÉPARER EN ANGLAIS ET EN FRANÇAIS EN INDIQUANT "TEXTE ORIGINAL" OU "TRADUCTION" QUESTION NO./NO DE LA QUESTION Q-223 BY / DE Dean Allison (Niagara-Ouest) DATE Le 18 juin 2025 Reply by the Minister of Health Réponse du ministre de la Santé Signé par Maggie Chi PRINT NAME OF SIGNATORY INSCRIRE LE NOM DU SIGNATAIRE SIGNATURE MINISTER OR PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY MINISTRE OU SECRÉTAIRE PARLEMENTAIRE QUESTION En ce qui concerne l’innocuité et l’efficacité des vaccins à ARNm contre la COVID -19 : a) Santé Canada a-t-il examiné l’article scientifique évalué par des pairs et publié par Hulscher N, Alexander P E., Amerling R, Gessling H, Hodkinson R, Makis W et al., « A Systematic Review Of Autopsy Findings In Deaths After COVID-19 Vaccination », Science, Public Health Policy and the Law, v5.2019-2024, 17 novembre 2024; b) que pense Santé Canada de l’étude mentionnée en a); c) quel ministère ou organisme détermine s’il existe un lien de causalité entre la blessure ou le décès et le vaccin lo