"Feb 26, 2021 -- When the U.S. coronavirus vaccination program began in December, residents and employees of long-term care facilities were put at the top of the priority list. That made sense, since those facilities accounted for more than one-third of all virus-related deaths while representing less than 1% of the population, according to The COVID Tracking Project.

The strategy appears to be working. Deaths and confirmed coronavirus cases have dropped sharply in U.S. nursing homes -- a category of all long-term care facilities -- since the vaccination program began, according to a The New York Times analysis of federal information.

The New York Times said deaths in nursing homes went down more than 65% between late December and early February. New cases went down 80% in that time period, twice the rate of the general population, with new cases at their lowest level since May.

“I’m almost at a loss for words at how amazing it is and how exciting,” Dr. David Gifford, the chief medical officer for an organization that represents long-term care facilities, the American Health Care Association, told the Times. “If we are seeing a robust response with this vaccine with the elderly with a highly contagious disease…I think that’s a great sign for the rest of the population.”"

[webmd.com]

Some people have undoubtedly died from the vaccine. The question is how many people have died with the vaccine instead of from the vaccine.

"In April 1955 more than 200 000 children in five Western and mid-Western USA states received a polio vaccine in which the process of inactivating the live virus proved to be defective. Within days there were reports of paralysis and within a month the first mass vaccination programme against polio had to be abandoned. Subsequent investigations revealed that the vaccine, manufactured by the California-based family firm of Cutter Laboratories, had caused 40 000 cases of polio, leaving 200 children with varying degrees of paralysis and killing 10."

Today with billions of doses of polio vaccine administered each year the number of polio cases is minuscule. That said there are still problems after 80 years of experience.

"Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, and Angola have experienced nine new cases of polio caused by the live virus in oral polio vaccines that has mutated into an infectious form, according to statistics released last week (November 20) by the World Health Organization. That brings the global total of these types of infections to 157 for the year, and it means that more children are paralyzed as a result of such vaccine-derived infections than illnesses caused by the wildtype virus, which has affected 107 people this year."

[the-scientist.com]

I picked that article because it illustrates how confusing the data can be. The vaccine is much safer than it was but still has problems.

BTW No I do not trust the NYT

Some people do have bad reactions to vaccines. I wish doctors and the media were more upfront about it. Vaccines are not risk free. We hope that they are better than not on-balance; but, for those affected that is little comfort.