AstraZeneca admits ‘very rare’ side effect of COVID vaccine in UK court
London, Apr 30 (PTI) UK-headquartered pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca (AZ) has admitted that in “very rare cases” its COVID vaccine can cause a blood clot related side effect but the causal link is unknown, according to court papers being quoted in the UK media.
‘The Daily Telegraph’ reports that in a legal document submitted to the High Court in London in February for a group action being brought by 51 claimants, AZ admitted 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”. The AZ Vaxzevria vaccine, also manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), was known in India as Covishield.
“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 quotes the legal document as stating.
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. Of the 51 claimants in the group action being represented by the law firm Leigh Day for damages under Section 2 of the UK’s Consumer Protection Act 1987 against AstraZeneca UK Ltd in respect of injuries sustained as a result of the vaccine, 12 are acting on behalf of a loved one who died.
“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.
KV Network
