AstraZeneca’s Covishield causes rare blood clot-disorder TTS, admits Covid vaccine’s side effect

AstraZeneca, whose Covishield vaccine saved many lives during the pandemic, has for the first time admitted that its Covid vaccine can cause side effects in rare cases, which could lead to blood clots and low platelet count.

Back in 2020, after the outbreak of the coronavirus, UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca collaborated with the University of Oxford to develop AZD1222 vaccine. In India, the Covid vaccine made by AstraZeneca was sold under the brand name Covishield which was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune.

What side effect is caused by the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine?

In a legal document submitted before the High Court of Justice, London, AstraZeneca has admitted that its Covid vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS - Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.

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Now, what is TTS? It is a serious condition that causes people to have blood clots (thrombosis) and a low blood platelet count (thrombocytopenia).

Thrombosis occurs when a blood clot forms in a blood vessel, which can impede blood flow.

Meanwhile, thrombocytopenia is a condition where the count of platelets in the blood is low. Platelets play a pivotal role in clotting, which helps prevent excessive bleeding.

TTS often involves unusual blood clots in locations like the brain (cerebral venous sinus thrombosis) or abdomen.

TTS is also known as vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).

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The symptoms of TTS, which are rare, but can be severe at the same time. If a person experiences severe or persistent headaches, blurred vision, shortness of breath, pain in chest, swelling of leg, or continuous abdominal pain, there are chances that he/she may have TSS.

The person also witnesses easy bruising or tiny blood spots under the skin beyond the region on the body where he/she has been injected.

In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) had also highlighted that TTS emerged as a new adverse event after individuals were immunised with the COVID-19 non-replicant adenovirus vector-based vaccine. This includes the AstraZeneca COVID-19 ChAdOx-1 vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Janssen COVID-19 Ad26.COV2-S vaccines.

How this came to the fore?

In the UK, AstraZeneca has been facing a class action lawsuit over claims that its vaccine caused deaths and serious injuries in dozens of cases, a report by The Telegraph said.

In the court, lawyers argued that the AstraZeneca manufactured COVID-19 vaccine resulted in a side effect which has had a devastating effect on a number of families.

The first case was registered in 2023 by Jamie Scott who got vaccinated in April 2021. Days after receiving the jab manufactured by AstraZeneca, Scott claimed to have been left with a permanent brain injury after developing a blood clot and a bleed on the brain that has prevented him from working.

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.”

However, AstraZeneca informed Scott’s lawyers in May 2023 that they do not acknowledge TTS as being induced by the vaccine on a general level.

AstraZeneca is contesting the claims but has accepted, that its Covid vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”.

Scott’s wife has demanded an apology and fair compensation for their family and other affected families. She emphasised that it took three years for the admission.

“We have the truth on our side, and we are not going to give up,” she said.

 How many cases are filed against AstraZeneca for its Covid vaccine’s side effects?

As per the report, 51 cases have been lodged in the High Court, with victims and grieving relatives seeking damages estimated to be worth up to £100 million.

In a legal document in February, AstraZeneca told the court that it admits that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. “The causal mechanism is not known,” they had admitted.

Lawyers argue that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is “defective” and that its efficacy has been “vastly overstated”. These claims have, however, been strongly denied by AstraZeneca.

With inputs from agencies