AstraZeneca Covid vaccine: Court case, rare side effects, admission of guilt, and more. All you need to know

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, in a damning revelation, has admitted that its Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield' can, in "very rare cases, cause TTS".

TTS or Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome is a rare yet serious condition suffered by some vaccine takers, with symptoms including blood clots and platelet levels.

The revelation can potentially pave the way for AstraZeneca to cough up millions of dollars in legal payout.

Here's all you need to know about the issue.

Covishield and rare side effects

British-Swedish company AstraZeneca, in conjunction with Oxford, developed its Covid vaccine that is sold under brand names 'Covishield' and 'Vaxzevria' among others. 

The vaccine was initially rolled out in 2021, as hundreds and thousands of deaths from the dangerous virus were being reported from across the world.

Also read | AstraZeneca admits in court that its Covid vaccine can ‘in very rare cases, cause TTS’

At the time, the rushed rollout was criticised by many in the scientific community and questions were raised about how safe it is to rush vaccine administration. 

Now, three years down the line, the question is back as AstraZeneca faces class action suits over claims that its vaccine caused serious injury or death in dozens of cases.

A confession?

In legal documents submitted to the UK High Court in February, the pharmaceutical giant accepted that its COVID-19 vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS".

"It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known," said the company in the document that is making headlines months after it was submitted.

"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," it added.

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Previously, lawyers for the pharma giant, in a letter of response sent in May last year, had contended "We do not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level".

Medical claims against the company

The first case against the company was lodged by Jamie Scott, father of two, who was 44 when he received the vaccine. 

Ten days after the jab, Scott complained of tiredness and started vomiting. Soon after, his speech got impaired, and he had to be taken to the hospital, where physicians diagnosed him with a suspected case of Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (VITT).

He survived the ordeal but was left with a permanent brain injury.

Alongside Scott, 51 cases have been lodged against the company, with victims and grieving relatives seeking damages estimated to be worth up to £100 million ($125.36 million).

Lawyers for the victims argue that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is "defective" and that its efficacy has been "vastly overstated". AstraZeneca has strongly denied these claims.

AstraZeneca vaccine side effects

As per the World Health Organization, side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine include typically short-term and self-limiting mild-to-moderate symptoms.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has been associated with a range of common side effects, as reported by those who received it.

These side effects include discomfort at the injection site, a general feeling of being unwell, fatigue, fever, headaches, nausea, muscle and joint pain, swelling, redness at the site of injection, dizziness, sleepiness, excessive sweating, abdominal pain, and instances of fainting.

These, however, happen in less than 1 in 100 people.

Did nobody realise the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine's dangerous side effects earlier?

Amid reports of adverse effects, including blood clots due to the vaccine, several countries suspended the COVID-19 vaccine's use.

In March 2021, Austria suspended the use of one batch after two people developed blood clots after the vaccine jab and one of them died.

Over time, dozens of nations, many of them in Europe, suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine.

This includes Denmark, Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo, Bulgaria, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Latvia, Slovenia, Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

(With inputs from agencies)