Doctors urge government to review side effects of Covishield and all Covid vaccines

Following AstraZeneca’s acknowledgment in a UK court that its Covid vaccine can lead to a rare case blood clotting, a group of doctors, affiliated to the Awaken India Movement (AIM) expressed extreme concern about the safety of the side effects of Covishield, which is manufactured under the Serum Institute.

The doctors urged the government to critically review the scientific evidence relating to the  basis of all covid vaccines. They are  calling for a separate audit of the commercialisation process of these vaccines and also suggested the need for a fast acting surveillance and monitoring system to identify any unexpected events related to them.

Dr. Tarun Kothari, who is both a radiologist and an activist, stated during the press conference, “The government has wholly ignored the rising number of cases of tragic deaths post-Covid vaccination all the while and continues to promote Covid vaccines as ‘safe and effective’, without scientific investigation and invoking epidemiology.”

He mentioned that the global community is becoming aware of a side effect associated with the Covid vaccine known as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).  Dr Kothari further added, “The Awaken India Movement (AIM) has been collecting details of Covid Vaccine deaths covered by media/social media in India and sharing them with various high authorities of the country since 2021, when the vaccination began. The government has failed to respond to our repeated requests to investigate deaths and debilitation from adverse effects of vaccination.” 

The AIM urged the Indian government to provide compensation to all individuals affected by Covid vaccines, including their family members. They proposed a mechanism that would involve vaccine manufacturers in the compensation process.

Dr. Sujata Mittal, a gynaecologist and oncologist, pointed out that during the initial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, there was a lack of awareness among the public regarding the incomplete phase-3 trials.

These vaccines had not been tested enough on preclinical studies or clinical trials to confirm its safety, short-term or long-term side effects of Covishield of Covishield, or deaths. She mentioned that vaccine awareness is quite limited in the general public which poses great challenges throughout India.

Mittal explained while thousands of women had claimed to have menstrual dysfunctions throughout the summer, and later confirmed as a vaccine side effect in an article published in September 2022. She also mentioned the need for fast track courts and said, “We also demand establishing fast track courts and vaccine courts to provide swift justice to the vaccine injured and their families.”

Furthermore, she emphasised the importance of implementing active surveillance and monitoring systems to promptly identify vaccine adverse events. She also stressed the need to develop and widely publicise early treatment protocols to save lives.

AstraZeneca, England-based company, which has its giant plant outside the UK,  is taking its vaccines off the global market. AstraZeneca had partnered with Oxford University to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, which was sold as Vaxzevria in Europe. 

Understanding and Managing Side Effects of Covishield

In India, this vaccine has been provided under the brand name ‘Covishield’ along with the Serum Institute of India. This move took place several days after AstraZeneca admitted that the vaccine may have rare effects related to blood clotting disorder and decreased platelet counts.

The decision to pull out of the market was because the company was overwhelmed with the swarms of new and superior vaccines that arrived during the pandemic. In India, the Serum Institute of India, which is the partner of AstraZeneca, confirmed it had stopped vaccination support since last December.

In addition, they stressed that they mentioned all the rare to very rare side effects of Covishield of Covishield on the packaging insert and including TTS in 2021.

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