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Lizzy Lawrence leads STAT’s coverage of the Food and Drug Administration. She was previously a medical devices reporter. You can reach Lizzy on Signal at lizzylaw.53.

WASHINGTON — Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency is conducting an “intense investigation” into whether Covid-19 vaccines have caused deaths in children. 

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Makary said his staff is looking into deaths of young healthy children from the Covid vaccine. He did not share specific data linking pediatric deaths to the vaccine, instead pointing to self reports in the FDA’s vaccine safety database. 

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Self-reported adverse events in the FDA’s vaccine database do not definitively prove that the person’s symptoms were caused by the vaccines. Makary’s comments, however, indicated that he thinks the reports are evidence enough. 

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