True toll of blood clot side effect victims of AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine may ... trends now
We may never know the true number of people laid low by a rare but devastating complication related to AstraZeneca's Covid jab, lawyers representing families have told MailOnline.
Fifty-one families are currently pursuing legal action against the pharmaceutical titan, arguing its 'defective' jab was to blame for their injuries and deaths of loved ones.
Called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TSS) or alternatively vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) the complication caused dangerous, and potential deadly, blood clots to form in the body.
Alleged victims are being represented by Sarah Moore, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, who told this website the true scale of the issue may never be uncovered.
‘The criteria for what constituted VITT was really only published and made available to the clinical community from the beginning of March (2021).'
Drugs giant AstraZeneca faces a landmark High Court battle over accusations that some doses of its Covid-19 vaccine were 'defective'
Researchers tasked with investigating the adverse reaction believe it occurs due to the modified cold virus lurking in the jab acting like a magnet to a type of protein in the blood called platelet factor 4. Platelet factor 4 is normally used by the body to promote coagulation in the blood, in case of injury. Then, in rare instances, the body's immune system confuses platelet factor 4 with a foreign invader and releases antibodies to attack it in case of 'mistaken identity'. These antibodies then clump together with platelet factor 4, forming the blood clots that have become so heavily linked with the jab, according to their theory
One of those seeking compensation for injuries linked to the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is father-of-two and IT engineer Jamie Scott (right), His wife Kate (left) said she hoped the new AstraZeneca submission was sign the legal case could be resolved soon
She added that as the complication was only spotted when the jab started being dished out to younger people, cases in older individuals could potentially have slipped under the radar mistaken for problems linked to Covid or other health issues.
'We may never know if there were other injuries that could have been related to the vaccine before March 2021,' she said,
Ms Moore said the youngest of the 51 cases included in the action involves someone just 19-years-old.
She added that many of the younger people affected were key workers or those working with vulnerable, like those staffing Food Banks, who got the jab not to protect themselves from the virus but to help keep other people safe.
Ms Moore added that the firm had been ‘inundated’ with people coming forward claiming that they or family member had been affected by the AstraZeneca's jab, but some have had to be turned away.
'Unfortunately, for a number of reasons, it isn’t feasible for us to take on every case we have been approached with,' she said.
She added that for some potential victims time to seek compensation had run out.
‘For the claims we are bringing, those injured or bereaved have three years from the date of their injury or the death in which to bring a claim so unfortunately in many cases that cut off has now been reached,' she said.
Her comments come after Cambridge-based AstraZeneca, which is contesting the claims, recently acknowledged in a legal document submitted to the High Court that its vaccine 'can, in very rare cases, cause TTS'.
TTS is a medical condition where a person suffers blood clots along with a low platelet count. Platelets typically help the blood to clot.
The complication – listed as a potential side effect of the jab – has previously been called
