Patients Launch Legal Action Against AstraZeneca Over Its COVID-19 Vaccine

Lawyers have sent the company pre-action protocol letters, the first step in a legal claim on behalf of around 75 claimants. Some have lost relatives and some have survived with catastrophic injuries following blood clots.

Many millions have had the vaccine without suffering complications but in 2021 the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency confirmed a possible link between the vaccine, known as Vaxzevria, and a rare condition involving blood clots along with abnormally low platelet levels. Those taking legal action have been diagnosed with vaccine induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia.

The claimants are pursuing a two pronged strategy: taking legal action under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 as well as claiming payment under the government run Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. The scheme has paid out in several cases, but is limited to £120 000 per claim and applicants must prove severe disablement.1 Payment under the scheme does not preclude a claim for personal injury through the courts. Those taking action under the Consumer Protection Act must show that the vaccine was not as safe as the public were entitled to expect.

Peter Todd, a consultant solicitor with Scott-Moncrieff & Associates, one of two lawyers handling claims, told The BMJ that the complications included stroke, heart failure, and leg amputations. He said the technology involved in the AstraZeneca vaccine was “risky.”

In an interview with the German state media outlet ZDF, contradicting past statements, German Health Minister admitted that the COVID jabs can cause ‘permanent disabilities’.

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