AstraZeneca, the makers of COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, which was administered to millions of people worldwide, has reportedly admitted that there could be rare side effects from the vaccine.
In a report, The Telegraph said that British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company AstraZeneca has admitted in court papers that its COVID vaccine, Covishield, can cause rare side effects.
The news has now been widely discussed across the world.
What AstraZeneca said about Covidshield vaccine side effect?
AstraZeneca is facing a lawsuit in the UK due to claims that its vaccine caused deaths. As many as 51 cases have been filed against the vaccine maker. In one of the court papers, AstraZeneca has admitted that Covishield can “in very rare cases, cause TTS”. TTS stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.
What is TTS? How it impacts people with Covishield vaccine?
Medical expert Dr Rajeev Jayadevan said that Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) refers to the clot in blood vessels, and it occurs in very rare cases, following the use of certain types of vaccines.
Acknowledging that the COVID vaccines have helped in preventing numerous deaths, Jayadevan stated that reports of such cases have also been highlighted in many reports.
“TTS is thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, which is basically clot in blood vessels of the brain or elsewhere, along with a low platelet count. It is known to occur in very rare instances following certain types of vaccines and also from other causes. According to the WHO, adenovirus vector vaccines in particular have been rarely associated with this condition,” he said.
“Although COVID vaccines have prevented numerous deaths, reports of these extremely rare but potentially serious immune mediated events have also been published in reputed journals,” Dr Jayadevan added.
What the UK media is saying?
According to several UK media reports, AstraZeneca has made the admission in court documents in connection with a case that alleges that the vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases.
Is SII’s Covishield different from AstraZeneca’s?
In India, the Covishield vaccine administered to thousands of people amid the COVID pandemic was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). The vaccine produced by SII named Covishield but not using mRNA platform. It has been prepared using the viral vector platform. In the vaccine, a chimpanzee adenovirus – ChAdOx1 – has been modified to enable it to carry the COVID-19 spike protein into the cells of humans. This cold virus is basically incapable of infecting the receiver, but can very well teach the immune system to prepare a mechanism against such viruses.
The same technology was used to prepare vaccines for viruses like Ebola.
Amid reports about clot in blood vessels in the UK media, the Serum Institute of India is yet to make any official statement.
What does WHO say about TTS?
Notably in 2023, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its report that TTS emerged as a new adverse event following immunisation in individuals vaccinated with COVID-19 non-replicant adenovirus vector-based vaccines.
This refers to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 ChAdOx-1 vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Janssen COVID-19 Ad26.COV2-S vaccines.
“TTS is a serious and life-threatening adverse event. WHO has issued this interim emergency guidance to increase awareness about TTS in the context of COVID-19 vaccination and help healthcare providers in the assessment and management of potential TTS cases,” the 2023 statement by WHO read.
What is Indian government’s stand?
Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya in March 2024 at ‘ANI Dialogues – Navigating India’s health sector’ said that ICMR has done a detailed study which shows that COVID-19 vaccine is not responsible for heart attacks, and an individual’s lifestyle and factors such as binge drinking could be among underlying causes.
“If someone has a stroke today, they think it is because of the Covid vaccine. ICMR has done a detailed study that the (Covid) vaccine is not responsible for heart attacks,” Mandaviya said.
