AstraZeneca regrets deaths after recognizing adverse effect on Covid vaccine

AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company that developed an anti-covid vaccine in partnership with the University of Oxford, lamented on Tuesday (April 30, 2024) the deaths and reports of health problems that may have been caused by the vaccine. According to the company, patient safety is the “highest priority”. Here is the full statement (PDF – 22 kB).

In a lawsuit filed in the United Kingdom, AstraZeneca recognized for the first time that the vaccine could cause a “rare adverse effect”. The pharmaceutical company is the target of a collective action in which 51 families are asking for compensation of up to £100 million (around R$650 million). Read the full investigation (PDF – 352 kB).

In a statement to the Power360a company spokesperson said new product information relating to the Covid vaccine was added in April 2021, with approval from the British medicines regulator, to include the possibility of “in very rare cases, cause thrombosis syndrome with thrombocytopenia”. The update was made public at the time.

“Based on the body of evidence from clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continually been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulatory bodies around the world have consistently stated that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of side effects. extremely rare potential collaterals”, he said.

Called TTS, the condition is characterized by the formation of blood clots and can cause blockage of veins and arteries.

In a letter sent in May 2023 to lawyers for one of the plaintiffs in the case, AstraZeneca said that “not accepted” that the vaccine causes TTS “at the generic level”but recognizes that the condition may, in “rare cases”, being one of the adverse effects of the immunizer. The information was published by the British newspaper The Telegraph.

“The causal mechanism is not known”declared the pharmacist. “In addition, TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine [da AstraZeneca] (or any vaccine). Causation in any individual case will be a matter for expert evidence.”he stated.