AstraZeneca Admits Vaccine Side Effects: The Controversy And Whether People In India Who Took Covishield Should Be Concerned

In 2021, when the world was grappling with COVID pandemic and fear and anxiety was widespread, all nations were working round the clock to develop and quickly release life-saving vaccines for the masses. Among the first ones to be released was AstraZeneca and Oxford’s COVID vaccine which was marketed in India by the name of Covishield. While many in the scientific community raised concerns over the immediate rollout of the vaccine, people were vaccinated in huge numbers across the globe.

Back in February 2023, AstraZeneca company submitted documents in a UK court stating that a rare side effect known as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) can occur in people. "It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known." However, in their papers, they mentioned that TTS can happen even without vaccination, calling for expert testimony. Following that, the company faced a class action lawsuit, which claims that the vaccine can cause fatal side effects.

Over the past several months there have been controversy around the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines, suggesting they might lead to severe side effects. And now, AstraZeneca, also known as AZD1222 or Covishield in India, has made a significant admission. For the first time, the company has acknowledged that its vaccine could potentially lead to a dangerous condition known as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS).

It is currently embroiled in controversies over the many legal proceedings by victims and their families. One of the most talked about cases is that of Jamie Scott, who sued the company after getting a blood clot that disabled him. He shared how post his vaccination in April 2021, he developed a "blood clot and bleeding in his brain," leading to lasting brain injury.

The COVID vaccine was jointly worked upon by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. In January 2021, Serum Institute of India (SII) signed a partnership with them to produce the Covishield vaccine for India, catering to other low and middle-income countries. SII, using its mass production facility could produce the vaccine at a huge scale to meet the enormous demand in India and other countries.

As per official data, by April 2024, over 1.7 billion doses of Covishield were administered in India as part of the world's largest vaccination program.

For the unversed, Covishield is a viral vector vaccine which is designed to provide protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It uses a weakened version of a virus (adenovirus) found in chimps, which is modified to carry a gene for a protein from the COVID-19 virus. Once this is injected inside a human body, the vaccine triggers a immune response and the body releases antibodies and activates cells to fight off the virus whenever a person gets exposed to it.

We spoke to several doctors to understand if there is a cause of concern for people who got vaccinated back in 2021 and 2021 (booster dose). We were told that adverse effects normally occur within the first few weeks (1-6 weeks) of vaccination. So there is no cause of worry for people now. Moreover, experts want people to know that COVID infection itself can also cause blood clots, and the risk is much higher than a vaccine. Another doctor shared that TTS can be caused with influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, H1N1 vaccination, and even rabies vaccine."

Resulting from close scrutiny of the vaccine, the vaccine was banned in several countries. Denmark was the first country to suspend it, followed by Ireland, Thailand, the Netherlands, Norway, Iceland, Congo, and Bulgaria. In 2021, several European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain, also stopped using AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine in 2021 after cases of blood clots were reported in patients. Later on, Canada, Sweden, Latvia, and Slovenia also suspended the vaccine followed by Australia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.