The BMJ Group has retracted a 2024 study on Covid-era excess deaths after finding misinformation on causes of death and limited original work by its authors. The paper, which found excess mortality remained high across the Western world for three years despite containment measures and vaccines, was widely cited in anti-vaccine content falsely claiming it directly linked those deaths to vaccination.
The retraction follows an investigation by the BMJ Group and a separate probe by the Netherlands-based Princess Maxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, where three of the four authors were affiliated. Two of the four authors and the institution support the retraction, the publisher said.
An expression of concern had already been attached to the paper in 2024 before the full retraction, the most severe form of scientific disavowal available to journals.
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