Recently, AstraZeneca, the company that produced the Covid vaccination, acknowledged that the vaccine may cause a rare side effect i.e., TTS. It is a condition that can result in low platelet counts that may cause blood clots. Since this news broke out, the social media has been set ablaze with posts regarding Covishield.
It was one of the two vaccines available in India during the pandemic times and was produced by Serum Institute. However, post this news, there are posts claiming that most Indians are currently at risk of TTS. Lets explore some of these claims.
Claims And Allegations-
As soon as the news broke out, some started blaming and casting aspersions on the Indian government for allowing Covishield. Some are blaming the current government for putting people at risk. All this is stemming from AstraZeneca acknowledgment in UK court that the vaccine can cause rare side effects.
One such post is shown below-
Covishield Vaccine पर खामोशी तोड़ो
जवाब दो MODI‼️#VaccineParJawabDoModi pic.twitter.com/tG1UyiatNY
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 1, 2024
Exploring The Controversy-
First of all, TTS stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome. As stated above it is a condition that can result in low platelet counts that may cause blood clots. Some of the symptoms associated with the same are , chest pain, shortness of breath, leg swelling, headaches, and stomach aches. Affected persons might also suffer from easy bruising.
First of all, even though AstraZeneca has admitted that its COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, may lead to this “rare” and “uncommon” TTS. It should noted that TTS and vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), is an extremely rare side-effect. It is mostly seen post-initial vaccination of 1-6 weeks. If in those 6 weeks these rare side effects have not occurred then the chances of such a condition to occur now is rarer.
Secondly, the contention that this is a new condition which has developed due to Covishield vaccine is misplaced. For according to Dr. Sudhir Kumar, Neurologist, Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad, “TTS is a well-known and recognised disease for the past 100 years. As the first case was reported by Eli Moschcowitz a 16-year-old girl in 1924. The underlying mechanisms of TTP have been known since 1982, and has been part of medical curricula during the past 4 decades.”
Thirdly, Covishield is not the only vaccine or medicine in the world which comes with side effects. There are other vaccines as well which comes with their own side effects. TTS is linked with other vaccines as well like Johnson & Johnson’s Covid vaccine named Janssen. Influenza vaccine, H1-N1, Flu Vaccines and Rabies Vaccines also come with their own side effects. So the revelation is nothing new. In fact, in India the probability of these side effects is quite low.
To Sum It Up…
According to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, there have been around 220 crore vaccination doses that have been administered in India. Out of these, 254 people reported side effects. Point to be noted that out of these 254 people, only 155 people were administered with Covishield. Hence, the probability of Covishield side effects comes down to 0.00001%.
Hence the claims of the vaccine being poisonous or that its the failure of the government are nothing but an exaggeration. One must not forget that Covishield was approved by WHO itself and not just in India but 49 other countries after due diligence and process. Moreover, Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus had himself lauded India’s vaccination drive and the way Indian Government had handled the pandemic situation.
All in all, mild side effects are there in all vaccines and medicines in the world. But if we go by the medical professionals then the side effects are much rarer and lesser as compared to the benefits provided by the vaccine.