Folha do Estado | Astrazeneca admits for the first time ‘rare side effects’ of the Covid vaccine

For the first time, AstraZeneca admitted to the Court that its vaccine against Covid could cause “deadly side effects”. The pharmaceutical laboratory is the target of a collective action filed by dozens of families who blame the company for alleged side effects that may have caused “damage to the health or even death” of vaccinated patients. The information comes from the British newspaper Daily Mail.

Lawyers representing the family members believe that some of them could receive compensation of up to £20 million (R$128 million).

Despite disputing the allegations, AstraZeneca, based in Cambridge, UK, acknowledged in a legal document submitted in February to the High Court that its vaccine can, “in very rare cases”, cause Thrombosis Syndrome with Thrombocytopenia (TTS). )”.

The condition leads to the formation of clots, which causes a reduction in the number of platelets in the blood. Platelets help the blood to clot. Since it admitted the reaction, AstraZeneca may have to compensate for each case, according to the English newspaper The Telegraph.

The news came to light just days after the company reported that revenue in the first quarter of 2024 was £10 billion (R$641 billion), which represents an increase of 19%.

Who asks for compensation
According to the Daily Mail, one of the patients seeking compensation for injuries related to the AstraZeneca vaccine is IT engineer Jamie Scott. He was reportedly left with permanent brain damage after receiving the vaccine in April 2021. He is a father of two and has been unable to work since.

This is one of 51 cases filed in the Superior Court seeking compensation for damages. Lawyers representing victims and families are suing AstraZeneca under the 1987 Consumer Protection Act.

Around 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been distributed in the UK in total. Official data shows that more than 80 Britons have died from complications from blood clots possibly linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency,

As health authorities have not ordered any more doses, this means the vaccine has all but been withdrawn in the UK.

AstraZeneca says its vaccine is responsible for saving around 6 million lives worldwide during the Covid pandemic.