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AstraZeneca admits its Covishield vaccine may lead to rare side effect
- By Newsdesk
- New Delhi
- Apr 30, 2024
According to reports, AstraZeneca has acknowledged for the first time in legal papers submitted to the UK High Court in February that its Covid-19 vaccine, marketed worldwide as Covishield and Vaxzevria, could result in a rare side effect.
In the legal document, the company acknowledged that Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), a rare side effect, may occur independently of vaccination. The document emphasized the necessity of expert analysis to establish causation in each specific instance. It stated, "It is acknowledged that the AZ vaccine can, in extremely rare instances, lead to TTS. However, the exact causal mechanism remains unknown."
Created through a partnership with the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca's vaccine was produced in India by the Serum Institute of India (SII) located in Pune. The Covishield vaccine has been widely distributed in India, with a staggering 1,749,417,978 doses administered as part of the world's largest vaccination effort since January 2021, as reported on the government's CoWIN vaccine dashboard as of April 29, 2024, at 10:30 PM.
The Cambridge-headquartered British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company now faces a class-action lawsuit, which claims that its vaccine caused serious injuries and fatalities.
According to media reports, several families filed complaints in court alleging that the AstraZeneca vaccine’s side-effects have had devastating effects.
The lawsuit was started last year by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who suffered a permanent brain injury by TTS after being administered the AstraZeneca vaccine in April 2021.
Scott’s case, along with many others’, reveals the severe impact of TTS, which leads to blood clots and low platelet counts.
Speaking to The Telegraph Scott’s wife Kate said, “The medical world has acknowledged for a long time that vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) was caused by the vaccine."
Kate has demanded an apology, fair compensation for their family and other families who have been affected. AstraZeneca's admission is seen as a key moment in the ongoing legal dispute, underscoring potential risks linked to vaccination.
Notably, in April 2021, the Australian Government received advice and recommendations from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) about the Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) vaccine and a syndrome called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) after which the vaccine was made unavaiable in Australia from March 21, 2023, so no further cases of AstraZeneca-related TTS can occur in Australia.