Astrazeneca Admits Covishield Has A Blood Clotting Side Effects Amidst The Rise Of Heart Attacks In India
After Killing Millions Of People Worldwide Due To Heart Attack, Finally, AstraZeneca Has Accepted That Their Vaccine Has A Problem. Should AstraZeneca Be Allowed To Continue Their Business?
Post the period of pandemic another epidemic has captured India in its clutches ever since. The epidemic of heart attacks. Often called an “old man’s disease”, these strokes have become more common among the age group of 25-50 years old.
Many hospitals have reported a surge of patients with cases of heart-related diseases. As per a 2023 report, 28% of deaths in India have been caused by heart attacks.
Doctors attributed this rapid surge to an unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle. Increase in stress, pollution, usage of steroids, substance abuse, and even high-intensity workouts, a lot of factors were blamed to contribute towards it.
But the question is, these unhealthy lifestyle choices have been a part of India for a decade or even before that, since industrialization and urbanization. India has always been the diabetes capital of the world, but why was it that the cases of heart attacks skyrocketed post-pandemic?
Amidst these discussions about heart diseases, stress, and lifestyle, AstraZeneca has admitted that their vaccine Covishield has a rare side effect that causes blood clots. And Covishield is one of the vaccines that was in circulation and taken by many Indians.
What did AstraZeneca admit?
AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company, which convened with Oxford researchers and scientists and came up with the Covishield vaccine.
That vaccine was then manufactured in India by Pune’s Serum Institute of India. Covishield along with Covaxin was in major circulation in the country. As per reports, around 175 crores dosage of Covishieldd has been administered to people.
But now the parent pharmaceutical company is being sued in the United Kingdom for causing deaths. They are being sued by people related to up to 51 cases.
In this court trial, AstraZeneca finally admitted that their vaccine has a side-effect of causing a rare disease Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).
What is TTS and how does it affect the body?
It is a combination of two diseases. One is Thrombosis which causes the formation of clots in blood and Thrombocytopenia which is characterized by low platelet counts. And since it is a syndrome there are no known treatment paths and no long-term cure.
Symptoms of TTS are– severe abdominal pain, swelling of limbs, shortness of breath, constant and severe headaches, and neurological issues.
Due to complications of permanent organ damage or fatality, TTS patients are kept under close monitoring. Because of these severities, it is also important to take prompt action in assessment and diagnosis in case of similar symptoms. Blood tests and imaging help to examine the platelets count and clots, if any.
Platelets help with blood clotting. They clump together and form clots to help in case of injuries to stop incessant blood flow. But a low platelet count means heavy bleeding. The symptoms of this disease are mild but in extreme cases, it can also cause internal bleeding in organs and result in blood loss.
The other half of TTS on the other hand causes blood clots formation. The liquid changes to blood in a process known as coagulation.
So the complexity of TTS is that it can cause heavy bleeding with no necessary blood clots, meanwhile, it can also cause too much clotting as a result of coagulation.
Was there negligence on the part of the regulatory bodies?
For drugs and medication, the regulatory body in India is the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization. It is their responsibility to inspect the drugs and certify them before circulation.
So, how did the CDSCO miss out on verifying and letting the public know of these side effects?
And it is not as if these side effects have just come to light. Even before the pharma company admitted to it, the risk of TTS has been well documented since the vaccine first being circulated. Many European countries even ceased the usage of this vaccine for a few months, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway being some of the first.
It was when those countries were banning this vaccine, camps were set up all over India to administer Covaxin and Covishield. But even after these shocking revelations have come to light, the Drug Controller General of India has yet to issue any statements.
What is the treatment for TTS?
As TTS is a syndrome that has two disorders grouped, there are no known ways of treatment. However, a combination of different approaches can be administered for a cure.
Those approaches include plasma exchange to increase the number of platelets, anticoagulation to prevent even more clotting, and treatments for blood clots in the brain or the arteries.
Instant hospitalization is also recommended for TTS as health professionals need to monitor closely and apply all these approaches closely to prevent severe damage.
Circulation of medicines and other pharmaceuticals needs to be done after proper inspection and has to be held to healthy standards with little to no side effects. So the negligence of so many international and domestic pharma regulators in inspecting a vaccine that too during such a sensitive time makes one question their authority.
And though as per many medical professionals, the side-effect of TTS is mostly negligible, the fact of the matter is that this information should have been provided to the public beforehand. Every person before vaccination should have been made aware of this aspect to make a clear choice.
Even if professionals say that it might not go to that extreme and people should not worry, every vaccinated person is still at risk and stressing over what they might have contracted from the vaccines.
On top of that, the silence from the drug regulating authority of India, a country where 90% of the population is vaccinated, and letting AstraZeneca still continue their business is speaking volumes for itself.
