SALT LAKE CITY — No deaths in Utah have been caused by COVID-19 vaccines, officials with the Utah Department of Health and the Office of the Medical Examiner (OME) said Thursday.
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OME made the announcement after completing investigations into deaths that came after the person who died had recently received a vaccine.
"The OME has determined there have been NO DEATHS caused by the COVID-19 vaccines to date in Utah. The OME is committed to investigating any deaths that fall under its jurisdiction where decedents had recently received the COVID-19 vaccine," the departments said in a joint statement.
The statement is a rebuke to claims made by a family who believed a woman's death was connected to a vaccine she had previously received.
In the statement, officials asked for Utahns to trust vaccine efforts in Utah that have allowed the state to move to more moderate transmission levels.
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"Public confidence in the COVID-19 vaccine is critical, and providing absolute transparency on the vaccine's side effects is our goal."
"The COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. They are how we will end this pandemic."