AstraZeneca admits its Covid vaccine can cause rare blood clots

AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical giant, has acknowledged that its widely distributed Covid vaccine, known as Covishield, carries the risk of rare side effects such as blood clots and decreased platelet count.

Covishield, a product of collaboration between AstraZeneca and Oxford University, UK, and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, saw extensive use in over 150 nations, including the UK and India.

Initial studies conducted amidst the pandemic indicated a 60 to 80 per cent efficacy rate in shielding against the novel coronavirus. However, subsequent research revealed that some recipients of Covishield experienced blood clotting issues, posing potential fatal risks.

In the UK, a collective legal action was initiated, asserting that the vaccine resulted in fatalities and serious health complications, seeking damages reaching up to £100m for approximately 50 individuals affected.

Among the litigants, one individual claimed enduring permanent brain damage due to a blood clot induced by the vaccine, rendering them unable to work.

While AstraZeneca has refuted these allegations, it conceded in court documents for the first time that the vaccine may "in extremely rare instances, trigger TTS" (Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome), characterized by blood clot formation and reduced platelet levels in humans.