Excessive blood clotting is an “extremely rare potential side effect” of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, the pharma giant has admitted for the first time.
Speaking to the High Court in February, AstraZeneca has admitted that its coronavirus jab “can in very rare cases, cause thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS),” – a very rare syndrome that occurs when a person has blood clots together with a low platelet count.
The Cambridge-based pharma company was taken to court by campaigners who have said their loved ones were killed as a result of AstraZeneca’s “defective” COVID-19 vaccine.
A total of 51 cases are currently in the High Court, with claimants seeking damages estimated to be worth around £100 million.
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TTS has been listed as a potential side effect of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, but this is the first time the company has vocalised that the jab can trigger the condition.
An indemnity deal AstraZeneca made with the Government during the COVID-19 pandemic means that taxpayers will have to pay the bill of any potential settlements.
The pharma giant has recently revealed that its revenue in the first quarter of 2024 went on to exceed £10 billion.
Jamie Scott is seeking compensation after the AstraZeneca vaccine reportedly left him with permanent brain injury following a blood clot and a bleed on the brain, leaving him unable to work.
His wife, Kate Scott said: “I hope their admission means we will be able to sort this out sooner rather than later.
“We need an apology, fair compensation for our family and other families who have been affected. We have the truth on our side, and we are not going to give up.”
Sarah Moore, from the law firm Leigh Day, is representing claimants against AstraZeneca. She said: “Regrettably it seems that AstraZeneca, the Government and their lawyers are more keen to play strategic games and run up legal fees than to engage seriously with the devastating impact that their AstraZeneca vaccine has had upon our clients’ lives.”
A statement from AstraZeneca states: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems.
“Patient safety is our highest priority, and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.
“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”
In 2023 AstraZeneca claimed that TTS “could not be cause by its jab at a generic level.” However, in its new submission it claims: “The trigger that causes some people to suffer TSS from the AstraZeneca jab is unknown and can also occur in people independent of any vaccine. Causation in any individual case will be a matter for expert evidence.”
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The pharma company is being sued under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. Lawyers have argued: “The vaccine was a defective product that was not as safe as consumers generally were reasonably entitled to expect.” AstraZeneca has strongly denied these claims.
In the UK, around 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca jab were given out. Figures have shown that at least 81 people in Britain died from blood clot problems apparently associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Roughly one in 50,000 people were at risk of developing TTS after having AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine. The jab did however save six million lives during the pandemic, according to figures.
AstraZeneca has since confirmed it is withdrawing the Covid vaccine worldwide.
