AstraZeneca admits its COVID vaccine can cause side effect called TTS in rare cases
The British-Swedish pharma major is fighting a legal case which alleges that its COVID-19 vaccine has caused deaths and injury to those who took its shots
British-Swedish pharma major AstraZeneca has admitted in the court that its COVID-19 vaccine – known as Covishield in India – has the potential to cause a rare side effect known as TTS or Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.
The company, which had produced the vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University, made the revelation for the first time in a legal document submitted to the high court in February, The Telegraph reported.
The pharma company is fighting a lawsuit that alleges that its COVID-19 vaccine has caused deaths and injury to those who took its shots in the wake of the pandemic.
Among the complainants is Jamie Scott, a father of two, who last year filed a case after allegedly suffering from a “blood clot and a bleed on his brain” following his vaccination in April 2021. It was claimed that Scott was left with a brain injury which rendered him jobless.
“The medical world has acknowledged for a long time that vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VIIT) was caused by the vaccine,” Scott’s wife told The Telegraph.
AstraZeneca, however, in May last year, had refused to accept that the vaccine induces TTS. The same was conveyed to Scott’s lawyers.
U-turn?
Surprisingly, the pharma major in its legal document, submitted to the high court, took a U-turn and admitted that the vaccine can indeed “cause TTS” in “very rare cases”. “The casual mechanism is not known,” it said.
After the revelation, Scott’s wife has now demanded an apology and compensation from the company, which she claimed took three years to formally make the admission.
According to reports, 51 cases have been filed against the company in the high court with affected individuals demanding a joint compensation amounting to £100 million.
AstraZeneca has tied up with Serum Institute of India to produce Covishield vaccines in India.
What is TTS?
Also known as VIIT (vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia), it is a rare syndrome where low levels of platelets are seen in a patient.
Thrombosis occurs when a blood clot or thrombus forms and blocks a blood vessel, thereby restricting the flow of blood.
The visible symptoms are bleeding nose and gums, blood in urine, heavy menstrual periods and bruising.