The CDC quietly removed more than 71,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 this week, including nearly a quarter of total deaths it had listed in those under 18 years old.
“Data on deaths were adjusted after resolving a coding logic error. This resulted in decreased death counts across all demographic categories,” the CDC said.
Mainstream outlets and COVID-19 vaccine advocates had cited the data to claim that Omicron is particularly dangerous for children, further justifying that young kids be vaccinated against COVID-19. In November 2021, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky referred to the flawed figures in calling for regulatory approval to vaccinate children as young as five.
Journalist Melody Schreiber, who authored an article for The Guardian last week on pediatric COVID-19 deaths during the Omicron surge, deleted her Twitter posts about it on Thursday (March 17) after the CDC figures were changed.