'Sympathy Goes Out To Anyone...': AstraZeneca Admits Its Covid Vaccine Can Cause Rare Side Effect

‘sympathy goes out to anyone…’: astrazeneca admits its covid vaccine can cause rare side effect

“Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority, and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines,” AstraZeneca said in a statement.

The pharmaceutical company’s response came after a leading newspaper in the UK claimed that the company has admitted to a court that the vaccine developed with the University of Oxford to protect against COVID-19 may cause Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) in “very rare cases”. AstraZeneca made the admission in a legal document submitted to the High Court in London in February for a group action being brought by 51 claimants, the daily said.

“It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known. Further, TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine (or any vaccine). Causation in any individual case will be a matter for expert evidence,” the newspaper reported quoting the legal document.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the claimants say they, or their loved ones, who received the AZ vaccine suffered TTS – a rare syndrome characterised by the concurrence of thrombosis or blood clotting and thrombocytopenia or insufficiency of platelets.

The consequences of TTS are potentially life-threatening including strokes, brain damage, heart attacks, pulmonary embolism and amputation.

“All of those within the group have death certificates or medical evidence confirming that the vaccine caused the deaths and injuries suffered,” said Sarah Moore, partner at Leigh Day.

“It has taken AstraZeneca a year to formally admit that their vaccine has caused this harm, when this was a fact widely accepted by the clinical community since the end of 2021. In that context, regrettably it seems that AZ, the government and their lawyers are more keen to play strategic games and run up legal fees than to engage seriously with the devastating impact that the vaccine has had upon our clients’ lives,” she said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has described the vaccine as “safe and effective for all individuals aged 18 and above”, with the adverse effect that has prompted the legal action being “very rare”.

The Serum Institute of India marketed the vaccine as Covishield using a viral vector platform rather than mRNA technology.