Coronavirus | AstraZeneca Acknowledges Rare Side Effects of Covid Vaccine in Legal Documents: Court Papers Reveal

 

In London, AstraZeneca mentioned in legal papers that its Covid vaccine might lead to a rare side effect, as reported by the UK's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

This disclosure from the pharmaceutical company happens as it faces a lawsuit worth over £100 million (around Rs 1,000 crore) in a class action. The lawsuit alleges that the vaccine contributed to the death and serious injury in 51 instances, according to documents reviewed by the Daily Telegraph.

AstraZeneca is arguing against these claims, but they admitted in a legal paper sent to the high court in February that their Covid vaccine can, in very rare cases, because something called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. This condition leads to blood clots and low blood platelet count.

In India, the vaccine was sold as Covishield, made by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune. When reached for comment, SII chose not to say anything.

One of the people making a claim is Jamie Scott, a dad of two. He suffered a permanent brain injury after getting a blood clot and a brain bleed from the AstraZeneca vaccine in April 2021, which stopped him from working.

The info about the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine was updated in April 2021 by the UK regulator MHRA to mention the chance of it causing thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), but only in very rare cases. AstraZeneca says this update was clearly shared and available to the public, according to the UK newspaper.

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The vaccine, made with Oxford University, isn't used anymore in the UK.

Lawyers representing families suing the company argue that the vaccine wasn't as safe as people expected. They're suing under the Consumer Protection Act of 1987, saying the most they could get from the UK government's vaccine compensation scheme, which is about £12,000 (over Rs 12 lakh), isn't enough.

According to info from the Daily Telegraph obtained through a Freedom of Information request, by February this year, out of 163 payouts made by the UK government scheme, at least 158 went to people who got the AstraZeneca shot.

A spokesperson from AstraZeneca told TOI: 'Based on evidence from trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has been consistently shown to be safe. Regulators worldwide say the benefits of getting vaccinated outweigh the risks of very rare side effects.

Related Links:

https://www.businesstoday.in/industry/pharma/story/astrazeneca-for-the-first-time-admits-its-covishield-vaccine-may-lead-to-rare-side-effect-know-what-it-is-427543-2024-04-30