AstraZeneca acknowledged for the first time in a U.K. court that its COVID-19 vaccine can cause a deadly side effect of blood clotting. This admission comes amid a class action lawsuit brought by dozens of people who claim the vaccine caused severe injury and even death to their loved ones.
The Cambridge-based pharmaceutical company admitted in a legal document filed in the High Court that its vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS" (thrombosis syndrome with thrombocytopenia).
TTS is an extremely rare medical condition in which blood clots occur along with a low platelet count, which is essential for blood clotting. Previously, this complication was called vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).
This disclosure marks a significant shift in the company's approach to lawsuits, as it had previously claimed that TTS could not be caused by its vaccine "at the generic level." However, the company has tried to downplay the new revelation by insisting that regulatory authorities have consistently confirmed that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of possible extremely rare side effects.
"It has taken AstraZeneca a year to formally admit that their vaccine can cause the devastating blood clots, when this fact has been widely accepted by the clinical community since the end of 2021," claimed Sarah Moore, a partner at Leigh Day law firm, which is bringing the legal claims.
"Regrettably it seems that AZ, 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 AZ vaccine has had upon our clients’ lives," she added.
AstraZeneca faces legal challenges in Germany
The pharmaceutical company is also the subject of a legal challenge in Germany. In fact, a court in the country recently ordered the company to disclose all relevant data on cases of thrombosis experienced by people who received its coronavirus vaccine.
