New Delhi:
After pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca admitted in a British court that its Covid vaccine can cause blood clots in rare cases, a group of doctors on Thursday expressed deep concerns about the safety of the Covishield vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.
At a press conference, the doctors, under the banner of the Awaken India Movement (AIM), urged the government to review the science behind all Covid vaccines and monitor their commercialization as well as the implementation of an active surveillance and monitoring mechanism to ensure side effects of vaccines. are identified as early as possible.
“The government has completely ignored the rising number of tragic deaths following Covid vaccination all along and continues to promote Covid vaccines as 'safe and effective' without scientific research and relying on epidemiology,” said Dr Tarun Kothari , radiologist and doctor. activist, said at the press conference.
The world is learning about a side effect of the Covid vaccine called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), he said.
When the COVID-19 vaccines were administered, not many people were aware that this was happening without the completion of phase 3 trials. The administration of COVID-19 vaccines was started without the manufacturers having complete information and data on the possible side effects or fatalities in the short or long term, said Dr Sujata Mittal, a gynecologist and oncologist.
There is already little awareness about vaccine injuries, especially in India, she said.
Thousands of women reported abnormalities in their menstrual cycles, which was much later confirmed as a side effect of the vaccine in a study published in September 2022, she added.
“The Awaken India Movement (AIM) has been collecting details of Covid vaccine deaths reported by the media/social media in India and sharing them with various high authorities of the country since 2021 when vaccination began. The government has not responded to our repeated requests to investigate deaths and debilitation due to adverse effects of vaccination,” Dr Kothari said.
The AIM urged the Indian government to compensate all victims of Covid vaccines, including their family members, through a mechanism that also involves vaccine manufacturers.
“We also demand the establishment of fast track courts and vaccine courts to provide speedy justice to those injured by the vaccine and their families,” said Dr. Mittal.
In addition, active surveillance and monitoring mechanisms should be implemented to ensure that vaccine side effects are identified as early as possible and early treatment protocols should be established and widely publicized so that lives can be saved, she said.
“Review the science behind all Covid vaccines and check their commercialization,” Dr Kothari said.
Britain-based AstraZeneca has started the global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine, provided in India as 'Covishield' in partnership with the Serum Institute of India, days after it admitted it had rare side effects of blood clotting and reduction in platelet count. counts.
The withdrawal was initiated due to a surplus of available updated vaccines since the pandemic, the company said in a statement.
In India, the company's partner Serum Institute of India said it has halted production and supply of additional doses of Covishield since December 2021, while reiterating that it will remove all rare to very rare side effects, including TTS, from the package insert in 2021 had announced.
AstraZeneca worked with the University of Oxford to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, which was sold in Europe as Vaxzevria.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)