New research has not yet identified a clear cause for the excess mortality of about 3,400 Dutch people in the last months of last year. The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) published an extensive study to the excess mortality in recent years, commissioned by the cabinet in response to a motion by the non-partisan Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt.
In 2020 and 2021, some 340,000 people died, 10 percent more than expected. Based on cause of death statements, it appears that 40,000 deaths in that group are the result of Covid-19. Other causes were, for example, cardiovascular disease or a psychological disorder such as dementia. In the third corona wave just after the summer, about 11,000 more people died than usual, 7,900 of whom died from the corona virus, but the cause of more than three thousand deaths has not been determined.
The research shows that corona vaccines offer good protection against death from Covid-19, without increasing the risk of death from other causes after a vaccination. The researchers state that after their vaccination, people have less chance of dying from causes other than the corona virus. But it is unclear whether this is also due to the vaccination.