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AstraZeneca row: AAP questions Centre's plan, raises ‘heart attacks’ issue
Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said there were already questions if the vaccine was linked to “sudden rise in heart attack cases”.
Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday asked the central government about the next plan of action after the UK-based AstraZeneca said its Covid-19 vaccine could cause blood clotting side effects in “very rare cases”.
“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 by the Indian government and promoted by the Indian government. AstraZeneca has said that blood clotting takes place due to the same vaccine, and it can lead to a lowered platelet count. These can result in brain stroke and heart attack,” Saurabh Bharadwaj said at a press conference.
"This issue should not be politicised but the Centre has been sleeping and it has done nothing so far. This vaccine was banned in many European countries in 2021 when the government in our country was administering and promoting it," news agency PTI quoted the Delhi health minister as saying.
Read Here: AstraZeneca admits in court that its Covid vaccine can cause rare side-effect ‘TTS’, what is it?
Bharadwaj said there were already questions in the minds of the people if the vaccine was in any way linked to the “sudden rise in heart attack cases”.
There were numerous videos of people suddenly collapsing and dying during workouts and other such normal activities in different parts of the country.
Known as Vaxzevria in Europe and Covishield in India, AstraZeneca vaccine was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). It said the vaccine could case, in some rare cases, “Thromboses Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).” However, the exact causal relationship remains unknown, as cited in court documents reported by UK media sources.
“This is extremely worrisome for our country. What should the crores of youngsters do next? What should the governments do next? What can be done in order to know if they have blood clotting,” Bharadwaj added.
Fact Check: Are AstraZeneca's Covishield-vaccinated Indians susceptible to developing TTS?
“This raises a very serious question of what should be the next plan of action. Has the Centre prepared any precautionary action to shield people from these side effects,” he further questioned.
AstraZeneca, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is fighting a class action lawsuit alleging that its Covid vaccine has resulted in numerous deaths and severe injuries.
Attorneys argue that some families have suffered profoundly from the vaccine's adverse effects.
The UK court has received fifty-one cases seeking damages exceeding £100 million, with victims and their grieving families seeking legal recourse.
AstraZeneca stated in a statement: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines."
