AstraZeneca is facing tens of millions of pounds in compensation claims from 35 alleged victims of the Covid jab in High Court legal battle
- Vaccine linked to a condition called Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombosis (VITT)
AstraZeneca is facing tens of millions of pounds in compensation claims from 35 alleged victims over complications they say were caused by the Covid-19 vaccine.
The pharmaceutical giant, which developed its jab in partnership with the University of Oxford, will face a High Court battle over claims the vaccine is ‘defective’.
It has been linked to a newly identified condition called Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (VITT), which causes blood clots.
At least 81 people have died due to complications related to the very rare side effect, while hundreds of others have also fallen ill as a result.
In what may be one of the largest cases of its kind, more cases are expected to be filed, meaning the vaccine manufacturer faces up to £80 million in compensation payments if it loses, according to reports The Telegraph.
The pharmaceutical giant, which developed its jab in partnership with the University of Oxford, will face a High Court battle over claims the vaccine is ‘defective’
MP Sir Jeremy Wright has urged the government to ‘intervene and settle’ legal claims
The government has indemnified AstraZeneca and other vaccine makers in their efforts to roll out vaccines during the pandemic.
Under the Vaccine Damage Payment scheme, victims of certain vaccines, including those used to beat Covid, are entitled to a one-off ‘all-or-nothing’ payment of £120,000 from the government.
Tory MP Sir Jeremy Wright, whose constituent Jamie Scott suffered a ‘significant permanent brain injury’ from a blood clot after winning the job in 2021, has urged the Government to take action.
The former attorney general said: ‘The public needs the confidence to know that they will be taken care of if in the small, small minority of cases the vaccine goes wrong.
“And that trust will be damaged if the government does not intervene and resolve these matters.”
The plaintiffs are suing under the Consumer Protection Act, suggesting the vaccine was not as safe as those who received it were led to believe.
AstraZeneca is contesting the claims, calling them ‘confusing’ and ‘unlawful’.
The company has also highlighted the millions of lives the vaccine is said to have saved in its first year of rollout.
The AstraZeneca vaccine will not be used as part of the UK booster program after experts recommended mRNA vaccines – such as the Pfizer or Moderna jabs – should be used instead.
Dr. Stephen Wright (left), 32, died from a blood clot in the brain after receiving his first dose of the AstraZeneca jab in January 2021
Vaccination complications have been noted on the death certificates of a number of people who were given the AstraZeneca jab.
Dr. Stephen Wright, 32, died from a blood clot in the brain ten days after receiving his first dose of the AstraZeneca jab in January 2021.
In April last year, a coroner ruled that the vaccine should be added to Dr Wright’s death certificate.
In another case, a rock musician known as Lord Zion developed a severe headache and was hospitalized eight days after receiving the shot.
Lord Zion’s partner Vikki (pictured together) said she is still ‘pro-vaccine’ after his death, but called on the government to better educate medical staff about the side effects
His condition deteriorated and he died in hospital on May 19. The provisional death certificate stated the cause as a brain hemorrhage caused by vaccine complications.
His partner Vikki said she is still ‘pro-vaccine’ after his death, but called on the government to better educate medical staff about the side effects and rework the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme.
AstraZeneca has been contacted for comment.