Dozens of patients and families whose lives were marred by an extremely rare reaction to the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine are suing the pharmaceutical company.
While it is widely believed that the vaccine has protected tens of millions of people from the virus, 81 patients have died and 364 people have suffered severe reactions, some of which have resulted in serious injury due to blood clots caused by the vaccine.
AstraZeneca is currently being sued by the families of 19 people who died after being vaccinated and 54 patients who had severe reactions but survived.
Stroke, paralysis and recurrent blood clots are among the symptoms of those who have had very rare but serious reactions to the vaccine. Many are no longer fit and healthy, have difficulty walking and talking, and have little hope of recovery.
The latest advice from the NHS is that the Covid-19 vaccination is safe and effective and gives people the best protection against Covid-19. NHS advice says: “Anyone who contracts Covid-19 could become seriously ill or have long-term consequences. Vaccines for Covid-19 are the best way to protect yourself and others.”
This fall, people at increased risk of severe Covid may receive a booster shot in preparation for winter 2023-2024. An additional booster will be offered this spring for a small group of people, such as the elderly and those with compromised immune systems.
The 54 members of the class action lawsuit who survived the backlash were diagnosed with vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia (VITT), a rare disease diagnosed following Covid-19 vaccination.
Lawyers representing the group, which is seeking personal injury compensation in addition to the Vaccine Injury Scheme lawsuit, argue that AstraZeneca’s vaccine “was not as safe as the public might expect” and that the virus was not the case. , “but about the reasonable expectation of security.” They argue that people have been misled about safety and efficacy and expect more study participants.
Vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia affects about 1 in 50,000 AstraZeneca vaccine recipients under the age of 50 and one in 100,000 people aged 50 or over in England, according to the National Health Service, which says the effects of blood clots can be destructive.
AstraZeneca’s vaccinations were first given on January 4, 2021, as part of the National Health Service’s rapid vaccination rollout. Just weeks earlier, 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first person in the world to receive Pfizer’s post-clinical vaccine. As of September 2022, almost 25 million first doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and 27.2 million Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines have been administered in the UK. In total, about 50 million doses of AstraZeneca were administered.
As part of its efforts to rapidly develop and commercialize vaccines, the UK government provided statutory compensation to the pharmaceutical giants at the start of the pandemic to protect them from suing patients in the event of complications. This means that if AstraZeneca has to pay compensation, it will be the responsibility of the taxpayer.
The Vaccine Damage Compensation System (VDPS) received 4,017 compensation claims, of which 1,013 were settled by March 6. Of those, 622 are linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, 348 to the Pfizer vaccine and 43 to the Moderna vaccine, according to a freedom of information request released this week by the NHS Commercial Office. All claims are related to disability.
Health Minister Maria Caulfield told Parliament last month that 48 VDPS applications had been granted. They are all believed to be related to the AstraZeneca vaccine. Most of the dismissed cases cited “medical reasons”. The number of administrative staff working on the program has increased from four to 80 in recent months as the government intends to speed up the process.
The scheme provides a one-time tax-free payment, currently £120,000, to successful applicants whose vaccination has resulted in severe disability. The right of a person with a disability to file a claim for damages in court remains unaffected. To qualify for payment, an applicant must demonstrate that they meet two main criteria: based on the likelihood that the vaccine caused the disability, and that the resulting disability is severe, classified as 60 percent or greater.
UK’s first Covid-19 vaccine
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine was the first vaccine approved for use in the UK, with the government ordering 100 million doses for use in its vaccination programme.
The vast majority of people received the vaccine without complications, but within a few months there were reports that a small number of people developed blood clots after receiving a dose, in combination with a low platelet count, called thrombocytopenia.
In April 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed a possible link between AstraZeneca’s vaccine and these rare clots, but stressed that the vaccine’s benefits still outweigh its risks for the vast majority of people. Thrombus cases assessed by the MHRA have been associated with abnormally low platelet counts.
The following month, the UK Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunization recommended that people under 40 be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine because of the added risk of serious side effects in younger people. By that time, countries around the world had already stopped using it.
In 2022, the JCVI advised against using AstraZeneca’s vaccine for booster campaigns in the UK, and the government confirmed that it would not be ordering more doses.
It is no longer used in the UK. It has been used in several other countries around the world, but it is not clear if stocks are still in use today.
Lawyers are calling on the government to provide “appropriate support” to victims and survivors of the vaccine. Preliminary letters have been sent to an Anglo-Swedish company based in Cambridge, which has yet to formally respond to the claims. Lawyers representing the AstraZeneca plaintiffs expect more people to join the lawsuit as more than 400 people have been reported as suffering from blood clots.
Peter Todd, consultant for Scott-Moncrieff & Associates Ltd, representing the 33 plaintiffs, said: IAs of 23 November 2022, there have been 445 reports of severe thrombosis (thrombosis) accompanied by a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) in the UK following the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine as of 23 November 2022, including 81 tragic deaths, according to the MHRA.
“These include strokes, heart attacks, amputations and other major life-changing injuries. This is an unusually high number of very serious vaccine injuries. We hope to be able to determine in court that these clots were likely caused by the vaccine.”
Mr Todd, who has worked with 86 people with narcolepsy as a result of the 2009 pandemic swine flu vaccination, added: “We have filed suit against AstraZeneca UK Ltd to seek compensation and consequential damages for a group that has formed 77 such cases to date. persons. plaintiffs existed. , under the Consumer Protection Act of 1987, and stated that the vaccine was not as safe as the public expected.
“It’s not about mistakes, it’s about reasonable safety expectations. People were told that the vaccine was safe, and they believed such claims at first sight. However, they received injuries that changed their lives. The government has agreed to reimburse Astra Zeneca for these claims and we urge the government to also provide appropriate support to the victims and their families.”
Officials said they could not comment on ongoing court cases.
A government spokesman said: “All vaccines used in the UK have been through robust clinical trials and meet the MHRA’s stringent safety, efficacy and quality standards. The Vaccine Harm Compensation Scheme provides additional support to reduce the burden for people who, in extremely rare cases, have been seriously disabled by receiving a government-recommended vaccine for a listed disease.”
AstraZeneca said it could not comment on “current legal issues” related to the Covid vaccine, also known as Vaxzevria.
A spokesperson said: “Patient safety is our top priority and regulators have clear and stringent standards in place to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines. Our condolences to all who reported health issues.
“AstraZeneca and regulators are carefully collecting and reviewing all reports of potential side effects associated with the use of Vaxzeuria. The combination of evidence from clinical trials and real world data consistently shows that the Vaxzevria vaccine has 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.
“The MHRA has granted Vaxzevria conditional marketing authorization in the UK based on the safety and efficacy profile of the vaccine. More than 3 billion doses of the vaccine have been shipped to more than 180 countries, and Vaxzevria is independently estimated to have saved more than six million lives worldwide in just its first year of availability.”
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.