Question Number: 160
PDR Number: SQ22-000529
Date Submitted: 21/11/2022
Department or Body: Department of Health
Question 22 Response previously provided in SQ21-001136, SQ21-0001218 and SQ22-000181.
Question 23 and 36 Response previously provided in SQ21-001218.
Question 24 The majority of the information contained within the documents related to adverse event reports with a fatal outcome is highly sensitive health information relating to deceased persons. Even with any names redacted, an individual may still be reasonably identifiable to their family members, or members of the public, due to the sensitive health information contained in the documents (including in relation to any pre-existing medical conditions). To facilitate the provision of adverse event reports by patients and practitioners, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) receives those reports on the basis that an individual’s personal information will be appropriately protected, including those reporting an adverse event. If the TGA is unable to guarantee the privacy of patients and the sensitive health information contained in those reports, this is likely to significantly reduce the willingness of patients and practitioners to submit adverse event reports. We expect that this would result in a substantial reduction in the willingness of reporters to provide sensitive information, and contact information, to the TGA through adverse event reports, and would therefore substantially prejudice the TGA’s ability to regulate therapeutic goods pursuant to the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989.
Question 25 Decisions on audits of Departmental (including TGA) processes and programs are made by the Australian Government Auditor-General.
Question 26 Response previously provided in SQ22-00108
Question 27 There is no credible evidence to suggest that COVID-19 vaccines have contributed to excess deaths in Australia or overseas. It is not clear from question which dataset the Senator is relying upon. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) specifically state on their website that their Provisional Mortality Data (last updated on 30 September 2022), cannot be used as official estimates of excess mortality. Using the number of deaths from the previous five years as the predictor for the expected number of deaths does not take into account changes in population size and age-structures of that population.
Question 28 Response provided in SQ22-000621
Question 29, 30 and 31 These questions appear directed at data on all deaths in Australia, rather than adverse event reports with a fatal outcome. The TGA does not hold Australia’s data on deaths, nor does the TGA have oversight of the data collected by death registries.
Question 32 The TGA does not outsource review of individual adverse event reports, including reports with a fatal outcome. Advice is sought as required from an external Vaccine Safety Investigation Group comprising medical specialists and consumer representatives, but the review of the reviews as received is conducted by specialist TGA staff.
Question 33 and 40 The premise of these questions is wrong. Response provided in SQ22-000105.