Serum Institute of India (SII), which produces AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine under the brand name Covishield in India, is facing a lawsuit in the country, a day after the latter admitted its vaccine can, in rare cases, cause a side effect resulting in a serious blot clot-related ailment.
The parents of the woman who reportedly died after taking the Covishield vaccine shot has decided to sue the Serum Institute of India (SII).
AstraZeneca's said its Covid-19 vaccine, co-developed with the University of Oxford, can in rare cases cause including thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a dangerous side effect that lowers platelet counts and causes blood clots in rare cases.
The parents of Karunya, who passed away on July 2021 following the administration of the Covishield vaccination dose, filed a case urging a probe over her death as soon as possible and access to the investigation's findings.
Karunya's parents have also demanded the appointment of an impartial medical board to probe the case, in their writ petition.
The father of the victim, Venugopalan Govindan, stated that AstraZeneca's admission came "too late" which resulted in the loss of a number of lives. "AstraZeneca and SII should have stopped the manufacture and supply of these vaccines when 15 European countries either suspended or age-limited these due to deaths from blood clots that happened in March 2021, within a couple of months of the rollout of the vaccine itself," The Times of India quoted the girl's father Govindan as saying.
A senior member of the Covid working group of the government said, "In spite of the uncommon risk of TTS, Covishield, which was used to vaccinate 90% of India's population, has done well in India," reported ET.
The victim's father accused the government and the vaccine's maker of marketing the Covid shots as “safe and effective” across the country without providing enough evidence. This has taken many lives and the victims had to incur huge financial expenses, it was alleged.
He alleged that the Covishield rollout was not stopped nor was awareness raised among the communities about the possible side effects. He stated, "The regulatory bodies that approved it and subsequently didn't intervene to stop it when data emerged about the dangers, are all culpable in the death of my daughter and countless others who have died after taking this so-called vaccine," reported TOI.
SII refused to comment on the matter, TOI reported.
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