EAST LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A recent study from a Michigan State University economics professor claims deaths due to COVID-19 immunizations could be higher than expected.

Almost 3,000 participants completed the survey in 2021.

Among the respondents, 612 people said they knew at least one person who had experienced a severe health problem following a COVID-19 vaccination.

The professor used that data and projected it across the U.S. population, giving an estimate of what the number that number could be, but some said the study is flawed.

Following those projections, professor Mark Skidmore said fatalities related to vaccinations could high as almost 280,000, despite the CDC saying the vaccines are safe and effective.

“We had enough vaccine injuries among the respondents, as well as among the people within their social networks, that are able to look at and create and estimate of the number of people who may have died from the covid vaccine,” Skidmore said.

Normally health experts would conduct surveys and studies into these issues, not economists.

“The number was pretty large, it was about 278,000 people in the first year of the vaccine rollout,” Skidmore said. “My background is as an economist, and a policy evaluator, so my motivation was to help inform policy decisions at the federal, state, and local level.”

Meanwhile, the Shiawassee County Health Director said the CDC data says the vaccines cause no harm.

“The CDC data shows that the vaccine for Covid are safe and effective,” SCHD Health Director Larry Johnson said.

Johnson said if people want concrete, scientific data, they should check with the CDC.

“There is a reporting system called the ‘Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System,’ and it has received about a little over 18,000 reports of adverse events from the number of people who have been vaccinated across this country,” Johnson said.

Skidmore said with the study’s findings, he’s only looking to bring attention and look into exploring the topic more.

“This is not a final answer, but needs more scientific exploration, inquiry, and discussion,” Skidmore continued. “So, that’s my hope is that we can look at this more carefully.”

The study was published last Tuesday.

Two days later, the study was edited with an editor’s note saying that the conclusions of the paper are subject to criticisms that are being considered by editors and that a further editorial response will follow.