The legal representative of a father who claims the AstraZeneca vaccine caused his brain damage has told the BBC that the pharmaceutical company has made a "significant change" in its legal position.
AstraZeneca admitted for the first time in court documents that its covid-19 vaccine can cause very rare side effects.
In a class-action lawsuit, the pharmaceutical company is facing numerous allegations related to its coronavirus vaccine.
Some of the compensation claimants claim that their relatives died with them, and others that the vaccine caused serious illnesses.
Studies, however, indicate that vaccines against covid-19, including AstraZeneca, have saved millions of lives.
In the midst of the corona virus pandemic, the AstraZeneca vaccine was also available in Serbia, along with the Chinese Sinofarm, the Russian Sputnik and the American-German Pfizer/BionTek.
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The first allegation was made last year by father-of-two Jamie Scott, who suffered a blood clot that caused brain damage and has been unable to work since receiving the vaccine in April 2021.
The lawsuit, which was brought under the UK's Consumer Protection Act, said the vaccine was "defective" because it was less safe than people had a right to expect.
AstraZeneca denies these claims, but admitted in a court document submitted to the High Court of England in February that its coronavirus vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS".
The lawyers in this case say that the abbreviation TTS stands for thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, and when it occurs after vaccination, it is also called VITT (vaccine-induced immune thrombosis with thrombocytopenia).
TTS/VITT is a rare syndrome characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of thrombosis (blood clots) and thrombocytopenia (low platelet/platelet count).
TTS/VITT causes potentially life-threatening consequences, including strokes, brain damage, heart attacks, pulmonary embolism, and amputation, advocates say.
Thrombosis in many forms can also occur in unvaccinated people.
However, the rare TTS/VITT syndrome refers only to the occurrence of thrombosis after vaccination, according to To the American Society of Hematology.
"TTS is a rare and serious condition.
"Triggers can be various events (not necessarily vaccines) and can have an unknown cause," AstraZeneca said in court filings.
In a written response to the BBC in May 2023, Scott's lawyers confirmed that AstraZeneca had told them: "We do not accept that TTS is vaccine-induced on a large scale".
However, in a court document submitted to the High Court in February, AstraZeneca stated: "It is recognized that the AstraZeneca vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS."
"The causal mechanism [how this happens] is not known," they added.
The company is asking each claimant to prove that it was the vaccine, and not some other factor, that caused the type of thrombosis known as TTS.
The document also says: "Furthermore, TTS can also occur in people who have not been vaccinated with AstraZeneca (or any other vaccine)". "The cause of these phenomena in each individual case will be subject to expert proof".
'Significant change of attitude'
The attorney, who represents Scott and 50 other people who have filed lawsuits in the case, says the latest admission represents a significant shift in AstraZeneca's position in the case.
Sarah Moore of the law firm Leigh Day she told the BBC: "This is an important recognition that the cause is shared - that is, the AstraZeneca vaccine can unequivocally cause TTS and VITT."
"It is important that they have now decided to change their position on this in their official submissions," she adds.
The admission could open the door to more lawsuits, as the plaintiffs seek what they say would be fair compensation and restore some financial security.
In a response, which the pharmaceutical company provided to the BBC on April 30, AstraZeneca did not specifically respond to the allegations made by Sarah Moore.
In a written statement to the BBC, the company said: "We sympathize with anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems.
"Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory bodies apply clear and strict standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.
"From clinical trial evidence and clinical practice data, the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has been consistently shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulatory bodies around the world have consistently stated that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potentially adverse events." ".
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Change in recommendation for vaccine use
In June 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that AstraZeneca's vaccine was "safe and effective for people over 18 years of age."
On April 7, 2021, the British Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization recommended that adults under the age of 30 be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine, "following reports of extremely rare blood clots in a very small number of people."
AstraZeneca also points out that it has recommended that this instruction be added to the label text on the vaccine boxes and vials.
The board changed its recommendation on May 7, 2021, advising that the alternative be offered to under-40s.
AstraZeneca told the BBC: "To date, more than 30 civil lawsuits around the world have been withdrawn, abandoned, or ruled in favor of AstraZeneca."
'just compensation'
Kate Scott, Jamie's wife, previously told the BBC: “Jamie has had more than 250 rehab sessions.
"He had to learn to walk, swallow, talk again. [He has] memory problems.
“Even though he's responded very well to them, now this new version of Jamie... that's the version that's going to keep moving forward.
"He has cognitive problems... he has aphasia [loss or disruption of already acquired language skills caused by brain damage]... severe headaches, blindness".
She added: “The [UK] government needs to change the system of compensation for vaccine damage.
"It is ineffective and unfair... and then [we want] fair compensation".
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