Given that the VAERS data is the government data, (albeit self reported and as such unverified) I think the headline is valid. If the government were to offer any better figures they would be preferable but they don’t so we must all work with what we have. I also think the very significant under reporting in the VAERS system is an important factor in the significance of these figures. I do give a certain amount of leeway to editors and journalists in cases such as this, where the nature of the information is so extraordinary and the under reporting so extreme, that pushing the envelope in the competition for attention is to some extent understandable. All that being said I agree that your title would have been far better, and if you were to publish articles on these types of figures I would post them in preference to the more click bait styled offerings.