The world’s largest vaccine manufacturer and the British pharmaceutical giant that created the vaccine during the Covid pandemic are to be sued by the parents of a young woman who allegedly died after receiving Covishield. This is in response to AstraZeneca’s admission in UK court documents that a rare side effect of their vaccine may result in low platelet counts and blood clots.
Under the brand name “Covishield,” the Serum Institute of India (SII) produced the identical vaccine, which was extensively used in this country.

SII hasn’t responded to this yet.

Venugopalan Govindan, who lost his 20-year-old daughter Karunya in 2021, said the admission was “too late” and came after “so many lives have been lost”. In an online post, he said the Serum Institute should have stopped the vaccine supply after the 15 European countries had restricted its usage over deaths from blood clots. He said the grieving parents are fighting for justice in various courts, but are not getting a hearing.

“If sufficient remedies aren’t obtained, for the sake of justice and to prevent recurrence of this atrocity that was perpetrated in the name of public health, we will file fresh cases against any and all of those perpetrators because of whose actions the deaths of our children ensued. Eight of the victims’ families have connected and I am echoing the common sentiments of all of us,” he said.

“Serum Institute of India and Adar Poonawalla will have to answer for their sins. For the lives lost,” Mr Govindan wrote in an online post, also accusing government authorities for approving the rollout of the vaccine.

Rachana Gangu, who lost her daughter Rithaika (18) in 2021, and Mr Govindan had filed a writ petition seeking the appointment of an expert medical board to probe the deaths of their daughters and prepare a protocol for early detection of the impact of vaccinations, besides compensation.

Due to allegations in at least 51 cases that AstraZeneca’s vaccine caused fatalities and serious injuries in multiple cases, the company is already facing a class action lawsuit in the UK. The vaccine’s potential to “in very rare cases, cause TTS” was recently acknowledged. Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, or TTS, is a condition that lowers blood platelet counts and causes blood clots in people.

The UK government has not yet gotten involved in the situation, despite having protected AstraZeneca from lawsuits.

Read More