A Canadian doctor claims that the rate of stillbirths in Canada has increased dramatically in women who have received COVID-19 vaccines. Dr. Daniel Nagase is a Canadian doctor who was publicly attacked for administering Ivermectin to some of his patients. The physician claimed that there is a correlation between the vaccines and the uptick of stillbirths. The Canadian physical declared doctors and health practitioners should disclose and print statistics regarding this matter since health authorities will refuse to do it. On the other hand, is there any hard evidence for the claim? While some, albeit minimal research emerges that SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID-19 could be a contributing factor to fetal demise. At this point, no claims are medically proven, regardless of the position.
Dr. Daniel Nagase was interviewed outside a rally outside North Vancouver RCMP office in British Columbia on November 11, 2021, where he exposed information regarding the alleged increase of stillbirths in both North Vancouver and Ontario. The doctor noted his source was Dr. Mel Bruchet, a retired family doctor, whose contacts range all over Vancouver. The stillbirths in North Vancouver were reported by an alleged, unnamed doula and said to be at an all-time high. In a 24-hour period, thirteen stillbirths allegedly took place.
Dr. Nagase emphasized the rising stillbirths in North Vancouver also was observed in Waterloo, Ontario. There were allegedly 86 stillbirths between January and July – shocking, as the usual number of stillbirths in this area is only one every two months. What makes Dr. Nagase’s interview controversial is that according to him, the reports regarding the increase in stillbirths were only among vaccinated mothers, implying that the stillbirths may have been an effect of the vaccines.
Who are Dr. Daniel Nagase and Dr. Mel Bruchet?
Daniel Nagase is a currently practicing family doctor who graduated as a medical doctor from Dalhousie University in 2004. He has earned certifications in the College of Family Physicians of Canada and Competence in Emergency Medicine. Dr. Nagase has been an emergency room doctor for nearly ten years and has been a locum tenens physician since 2015 in the rural Alberta hospital.
He first received attention from the media after he was relieved of his duty after prescribing ivermectin to three of his patients. Daniel Nagase was working as a locum doctor when he administered ivermectin to three patients at a rural Alberta hospital, two of which had sought a quick recovery. In light of this, he was known for stating that provincial health officials are “withholding a life-saving medication from an entire province.”
Dr. Mel Bruchet is a Canadian notable specialist who is now retired. According to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia website, he has officially withdrawn his medical license. He also met heavy criticism after his statement saying that COVID is a hoax.
Fact-checking the claims about the North Vancouver stillbirths
According to Global News, a Canadian mainstream media owned by Corus Entertainment, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corus_Entertainment the data coming from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) do not match the claims made by Bruchet and Dr. Nagase. It shows that from April up to August 2021, only four stillbirths were reported all across seven hospitals, and approximately 1,325 live births. The previous year, there were 3,299 live births and eleven stillbirths.
Because of this, Global News reports that the claims regarding the high number of stillbirths are false, as they were unable to find information to verify these rumors. VCH recently broke its silence, as it tweeted statements that dismiss the claims. According to the health authority, “there is no truth to this claim and the individuals spreading this false information have no affiliation to either LGH or VCH. There has been no notable change to the incidence of stillbirths in the VCH region throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Fact-checking the claims about the Waterloo, Ontario stillbirths
The Waterloo, Ontario stillbirths reported by the family doctor were also inconsistent with the available data, according to the Global News fact check. The data from the Better Outcomes Registry & network (BORN), which is Ontario’s perinatal, newborn, and child registry, show that there were only between 12 – 15 stillbirths in Waterloo between the months of January to June 2021. This is another discrepancy found based on claims given by Bruchet and Dr. Nagase. The statistics also showed that in the entire province of Ontario during the first six months of the year, there were 300 stillbirths and 67,199 live births, equating to a 0.44% chance of stillbirth among pregnant women. This is down on the 2020 rate of 0.47%.
TrialSite was unable to access data regarding the stillbirths in Vancouver during this period. We can, however, confirm that the report from Global News is consistent with the data from the Better Outcomes Registry & Network website.
COVID-19 Implications on Pregnancies
The initial safety trials for the COVID vaccines did not include pregnant women, meaning there is little assurance of its efficacy and safety in terms of pregnancies. However, recent data show that vaccinated pregnant women were able to develop antibodies against the virus and had not reported any serious side effects.
According to the updated data of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) in the UK, around 250,000 pregnant women have been inoculated by the COVID vaccine and no safety concerns were raised. Six studies showed that of 40,000 pregnant women given the COVID-19 vaccine, there was no increase in the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth, stillbirth, having a “small for gestational age” baby, or congenital abnormalities. The study also stated that the vaccines do not contain ingredients harmful for pregnant women and developing babies.
Data from Public Health Scotland in October 2021 reported that more than 14,000 pregnant women in Scotland had been vaccinated, and no reports of serious adverse effects were recorded. A new safety data by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), reported that in August 2021, about 22% of the women that gave birth were vaccinated, providing “further reassuring evidence” that the vaccines are safe in pregnancy.
COVID-19 Implications on Stillbirths
While the available data does not support the claims made about the link between COVID-19 vaccinations and stillbirths, data does indicate that the COVID-19 virus itself may impact the rate of stillbirths.
A Dutch study recently confirmed that women who caught COVID-19 have increased risk of stillbirths. Pregnant women infected with COVID-19 may experience severe complications in the second half of the pregnancy, which may result in stillbirths. The study, conducted by researchers from Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, identified thirteen stillbirths that were recorded due to the virus damaging the placenta. It was also reported that among the thirteen pregnancies, none of them were inoculated by a COVID-19 vaccine. Examination of the placentas of pregnant women infected by the virus revealed that five out of 36 placentas showed an unprecedented combination of abnormalities that can lead to a stillbirth.
The Netherlands also reported that 36 out of 9,570 coronavirus-infected pregnancies have led to stillbirths. As mentioned previously the Ganor Paz study
The association between SARS‐CoV‐2 infection and late pregnancy loss – Ganor Paz – – International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics – Wiley Online Library also indicates a potential issue with COVID-19 and stillbirths.
As of January 2022, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Canadian Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, and British RCOG still recommend pregnant women to be vaccinated against COVID-19. According to these health authorities, vaccination is still the best way to prevent infecting COVID in pregnancy for both women and their babies.
Health authorities’ assertive pressure for vaccination rests on the assumption that this regimen protects pregnant women from the more severe symptoms of COVID-19, vaccination is said to provide benefits as immunity from the vaccines does transfer to the fetus through the placenta, providing the offspring immunity from the virus. TrialSite has reported on various data points around the world that vaccine adverse events, while rare, aren’t necessarily uncommon. After all hundreds of millions are now vaccinated in North America alone—this undoubtedly will lead to far more adverse events than is politically correct to discuss on mainstream media today.
TrialSite notes the unfolding, dynamic nature of the pandemic as well as the knowledge associated with the benefits and potential risks associated with COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, with the specter of bias toward economic forces, TrialSite continues to monitor the reports of adverse events following vaccination, and any changes in position from leading experts in the field. The inputs of physicians are incredibly important, hence the time taken herein with the Canadian physicians.