Covishield Vaccine Row: AAP Seeks To Know Centre's Next Move After Astrazeneca's 'Side-Effects' Revelation

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca conceded for the first time that its Covid vaccine led to a rare side effect resulting in blood clots and low blood platelet count.

Delhi minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj holds a press conference

Source : X/@AamAadmiParty

Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned Centre's next plan of action after pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca conceded for the first time that its Covid vaccine led to a rare side effect resulting in blood clots and low blood platelet count. The vaccine, manufactured by Pune's Serum Institute of India, was being distributed under the brand name of Covishield. 

"AstraZeneca, the British giant that developed (the vaccine), has confessed in a UK court that this vaccine has rare side effects. This exact vaccine was also developed in India by SII and was given to millions of Indians," said the AAP leader. 

"In the last 4 years, many people in India have died of heart attacks. People started dying suddenly. People raised questions about whether this is happening due to the coronavirus vaccine. But the government remained silent," Bharadwaj said in a press conference on Wednesday.

Senior AAP Leader and Minister @Saurabh_MLAgk Addressing an Important Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/sAkt3f8Trd

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"In the last 4 years, many people in India have died of heart attacks. People started dying suddenly. People raised questions about whether this is happening due to the coronavirus vaccine. But the government remained silent," he said and charged that the "Indian government was setting up camps for getting the Covishield vaccine" even after the report was published. 

"Now that the vaccine manufacturing company itself has admitted that it can cause heart attacks in some cases, what is the plan of the Central Government now," he questioned. 

AstraZeneca made the admission in court documents submitted to the UK High Court this week after a lawsuit was initiated by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who suffered permanent brain damage after experiencing a blood clot and brain bleed following this vaccination in April 2021. 

The company acknowledged that its Covid vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS," referring to Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, a condition characterised by blood clots and low blood platelet count,