AstraZeneca plc, the largest and most profitable pharmaceutical company in the United Kindgdom1 has admitted in court documents that its COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, which was developed in partnership with the University of Oxford, can cause the blood disorder thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) in “very rare cases.” TTS is an immune disorder specifically associated with Vaxzevria and sometimes referred to as VITT (vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia),2 3 which causes blood clots and low platelet counts that have led to the injury and death of recipients of the vaccine.4 5
The AstraZeneca/Oxford University Vaxzevria COVID vaccine was never approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be distributed in the U.S., although the company did conduct clinical trials in the U.S.
While TTS has been listed as a warning since Vaxzevria was approved for public use by government health officials in the U.K. and other countries, this is the first time that AstraZeneca has admitted in court that the vaccine can cause the very serious and often deadly blood disorder. The pending class action lawsuit alleges that Vaxzevria caused serious injury to and the death of certain individuals.6
The stakes are high for the pharmaceutical giant as 51 cases have been filed in London’s High Court with potentially $125 million in damages on the line.7 There have been 445 confirmed cases of TTS and 81 deaths in the United Kingdom post vaccination.8 AstraZeneca protests that Vaxzevria is not the cause of all these cases of TTS and argues that the condition can occur in people who have not received the vaccine. Spokespersons for the pharmaceutical giant said that the company will rely on expert testimony to determine causation in every single case.9
Vaxzevria a Chimpanzee Adenovirus-Vectored Vaccine
In contrast to mRNA COVID biologicals developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna/NIAID, Vaxzevria is a chimpanzee adenovirus-vectored vaccine. To make the inactivated vaccine, AstraZeneca/Oxford University researchers used a genetically modified adenovirus that infects chimpanzees as a vector to deliver coronavirus synthetic spike protein into cells of the human body to provoke an immune response.10
Plaintiff’s attorneys for Vaxzevria reaction victims are alleging the shot causes “vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis” that can cause brain injury and death, while in court documents defense attorneys admit that “the AstraZeneca vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known.”11 The risk of VITT is greater in women and individuals under 60 years old, with cases typically appearing between five and 30 days post vaccination.12
Jamie Scott, an IT engineer and father of two children in the U.K., who suffered a permanent brain injury from a blood clot and bleeding in his brain post vaccination, filed the initial case in a multi-pound lawsuit against AstraZeneca in the U.K.’s High Court in August 2023.13 14 In May 2023, in response to the lawsuit, AstraZeneca stated:
We do not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level.15
Mr. Scott’s wife, Kate Scott, countered:
The medical world has acknowledged for a long time that VITT was caused by the vaccine. It’s only AstraZeneca who have questioned whether Jamie’s condition was caused by the jab.16
U.S Lawsuit Filed by Vaxzevria Clinical Trial Victim Against AstraZeneca
Brianne Dressen was a participant in AstraZeneca’s early clinical trials for Vaxzevria in the Salt Lake City area of the U.S. and was eventually diagnosed with “post-vaccine neuropathy” by neurologists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). When she entered the clinical trial, the 39-year-old mother of two children said she was “the picture of health.” Dressen began feeling adverse effects from the vaccine a few hours after she was given the vaccine. At first, she experienced tingling in her arm that spread to her shoulder, other arm and legs. Her symptoms soon included a headache, ringing in her ears, blurred vision and vomiting.17 18
The lawsuit alleges that Dressen developed a severe neurological condition including paresthesia and “post-vaccine neuropathy” due to her participation in Vaxzevria trials.19 Dressen is no longer able to work as a pre-school teacher.20 Dressen said:
I walked into the clinic fine, and walked out the beginning of a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.21
The lawsuit accuses AstraZeneca of not following through with its contractual obligation to cover any medical costs incurred due to side-effects affects from it COVID vaccine. The complaint states that the pharmaceutical giant, “refused to honor their contractual obligations to provide medical care/referrals and cover the costs of the injury.”22
By asserting that AstraZeneca breached their contractual obligation, Dressen is able to get around the federal Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP) prohibition against filing COVID vaccine injury lawsuits against manufacturers of vaccines used during declared public health emergencies in accordance with the 2005 PREP Act.23
AstraZeneca defended Vaxzevria…
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.24
Vaxzevria Withdrawn from the European Union Market in March 2024
AstraZeneca has voluntarily withdrawn Vaxzevria from the European Union market effective Mar. 7, 2024, with plans to withdraw it from other countries that had previously approved the two-dose vaccine. Vaxzevria was approved for adults aged 18 and older only.25 The FDA never approved Vaxzevria for use in the U.S.26
AstraZeneca claims that Vaxzevria is being withdrawn due to commercial reasons because updated shots better matched new variants of the virus.27 Despite AstraZeneca’s admission in court that the vaccine can cause TTS, the company said the decision to withdraw the vaccine now was pure coincidence and had nothing to do with the lawsuits.28
AstraZeneca released the following statement:
We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic. According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. “Our efforts have been recognized by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic.29
Sarah Moore, plaintiff attorney for the Vaxzevria victims suing AstraZeneca, said:
To those who we represent, all of whom have suffered bereavement or serious injury as a result of the AstraZeneca vaccine, this decision to withdraw marketing authorization, ending the usage of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the E.U., will be welcomed.
It will be seen as a decision linked with AstraZeneca’s recent admission that the vaccine can cause TTS, and the fact that regulators across the world suspended or stopped usage of the vaccine following concerns regarding TTS.30
AstraZeneca has been criticized since Vaxzevria first went on the market for omitting important information from public statements, for making mistakes during the vaccine’s clinical trials, and for production delays that reportedly strained relations with leaders of E.U. countries. The majority of the vaccine was distributed in the E.U., as well as in poor countries through a United Nations program.31
In April 2021, labeling information about Vaxzevria was updated by E.U. and U.K. regulators to include mention of the deadly blood clotting/bleeding disorder as a possible, though rare, side-effect. While U.K. regulators, who reviewed the details of 18 fatalities among 62 reported cases of clotting in the sinuses that drain blood from the brain and 24 cases of clotting in the abdomen, suggested that people under age 30 should use other types of COVID vaccines, they still recommended that those, who had already received the first AstraZeneca shot, be offered the second dose. However, German regulators went further and suspended use of Vaxzevria vaccine in people under 60 years old.32
Despite these problems, AstraZeneca managed to earn close to $4 billion in revenue from sales of the vaccine.33
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Click here to view References:2 HealthDirect. Thrombosis with Thrombocyopenia Syndrome (TTS). December 2023.
3 Mahroum N, Lavine N, Ohayon A et al. COVID-19 Vaccination and the Rate of Immune and Autoimmune Adverse Events Following Immunization: Insights From a Narrative Literature Review. Front Immunol 2022; 13.
4 Nesi C. AstraZeneca cops to rare, deadly side effect of COVID jab as lawsuits mount. New York Post Apr. 29, 2024.
5 Ziady H. AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine citing low demand. CNN Mar. 8, 2024.
6 Investigations Team. AstraZeneca admits its Covid vaccine can cause rare side effect in court documents for first time. The Telegraph Apr. 28, 2024.
7 Ibid.
8 Mendick R, Sawer P. AstraZeneca withdrawing Covid vaccine worldwide The Telegraph May 7, 2024.
9 HT News Desk. AstraZeneca admits its Covid vaccine can cause rare side-effect ‘TTS’, what is it? Hindustan Times May 1, 2024.
10 Knapp A, Rosenbaum L. Here’s What You Need to Know About AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine. Forbes Nov. 23, 2020.
11 Singh V. AstraZeneca Admits Its COVID-19 Vaccine May Cause Blood Clotting Side Effect In Very Rare Case, But Causal Mechanism Unknown. Yahoo! Finance Apr. 29, 2024.
12 Sarkar M, Madabhavi IV et al. COVID-19 vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia: A review. Ann Thorac Med 2022; 17(1): 1-13.
13 Stearn E. AstraZeneca rejects claims its Covid vaccine was ‘defective’: Jab maker argues accusations are ‘confused’ and ‘wrong in law.’ Daily Mail Nov. 23, 2023.
14 Nesi C. AstraZeneca cops to rare, deadly side effect of COVID jab as lawsuits mount. New York Post Apr. 29, 2024.
15 Stearn E. AstraZeneca rejects claims its Covid vaccine was ‘defective’: Jab maker argues accusations are ‘confused’ and ‘wrong in law.’ Daily Mail Nov. 23, 2023.
16 HT News Desk. AstraZeneca admits its Covid vaccine can cause rare side-effect ‘TTS’, what is it? Hindustan Times. May 1, 2024.
17 Lopez I. AstraZeneca Sued Over Covid-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial Injury (1). Bloomberg Law May 13, 2024.
18 Crane E. Utah mom sues AstraZeneca, claiming she was left ‘permanently disabled’ in COVID vaccine trial. New York Post May 14, 2024.
19 Ibid.
20 Lopez I. AstraZeneca Sued Over Covid-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial Injury (1). Bloomberg Law May 13, 2024.
21 Crane E. Utah mom sues AstraZeneca, claiming she was left ‘permanently disabled’ in COVID vaccine trial. New York Post May 14, 2024.
22 Ibid.
23 Fisher BL, Parpia R. 2005 PREP Act and 1986 Act Shield Vaccine Manufacturers from Liability. The Vaccine Reaction Aug. 10, 2020.
24 Crane E. Utah mom sues AstraZeneca, claiming she was left ‘permanently disabled’ in COVID vaccine trial. New York Post May 14, 2024.
25 Davey M. AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, citing surplus of newer vaccines. The Guardian May 7, 2024.
26 Mendick R, Sawer P. AstraZeneca withdrawing Covid vaccine worldwide The Telegraph May 7, 2024.
27 Ibid.
28 Ibid.
29 Ibid.
30 Ibid.
31 Associated Press. Astra Zeneca pulls its COVID-19 vaccine from the European market. May 8, 2024.
32 Dewan A, Braithwaite S. EU agency finds AstraZeneca vaccine can cause rare blood clots, as UK advises other shots for under-30s. CNN Apr. 8, 2021.
33 Ziady H. AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine citing low demand. CNN Mar. 8, 2024.
4 Responses
October 26, 2023 Amid Revelations of Contamination, DailyClout Finds: FDA Withheld 16,000+ Pages of Quality Control Documentation for Pfizer mRNA Vaccine, Citing ‘Trade Secrets.’
Multiple independent labs have confirmed that Pfizer’s COVID vaccine is contaminatedwith DNA fragments, SV40, and plasmids. Given that, surely it is unethical for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to withhold the Pfizer vaccine quality data from Americans. Obviously, all eyes are now turning to Pfizer’s manufacturing process. What did Pfizer know about the adulteration, and what did FDA know? With a novel gene therapy drug, such as Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, the public must be confident that manufacturing, batch analyses, and drug stability – indeed all quality control issues – are done appropriately.
https://dailyclout.io/fda-withholds-over-16000-pages-of-pfizers-mrna-covid-vaccine-module-3-quality-documentation/
Just found it strange that AZ got a very robust third degree from all the worlds drug safety agencies at the first signs of any vascular issues yet all the other competing Pharma alternatives with equally disturbing adverse reactions seem to be getting an easier ride such they are not with drawing their products from the market and still actively promoting their products as if they are free from any defects or additional debateable extras.
One hundred and twenty five million dollar fine on a four billion dollar revenue. That is 3.125% or .03125 of the total income revenue. Those are not ‘high stakes’ as the author claims. Sounds nothing more than the cost of doing business, and they will write off one hundred percent of the fines and buy themselves brand new luxury items and fancy new buildings. Fines based on income instead is what we need. Eight billion dollars in fines would have the intended effect of correcting the behavior. Otherwise it’s just business as usual for the serial toxic pharmaceutical product manufacturers whom profit because they harm consumers. The more they push, the more they harm, the more they earn. How long before we start seeing late night informercials on the matter from the class action lawyers? They’ll take a piece of the profit action at the tail end. The illusion of regulatory oversight is getting old. The entire system is corrupt. They own the regulators. The legal system works for these corporations, not against them. Who’s still buying this?
The only way to stop these people is criminal prosecution. A crime has been committed..WAKE UP !!!