AstraZeneca row: Vaccines come with caution, here’s what makes them safe – India Today

The Covid-19 pandemic was one of the worst in modern history that raged across the world killing millions in its wake. After it began its deathly journey in 2019, the wave took multiple turns only to be curtailed by the rapid development of vaccines that helped slow it down and eventually kill its staggering pace of transmission.

The vaccine development process against Coronavirus was mired with debates over the rush of it and its early success.

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British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca's admittance in court documents that its vaccine, known as Covishield in India, may cause a rare side effect, has once again brought attention to the safety aspects of getting jabbed with a new vaccine.

AstraZeneca faces a class-action lawsuit alleging serious injuries and deaths resulting from its vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford.

THE COVISHIELD SAGA

Starting from 2021, Covishield was administered to millions across the world with studies confirming that the vaccine may cause rare side effects, one of which is TTS (Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome).

The condition causes blood clotting and low blood platelet count. However, this occurrence would be seen within 4 to 42 days of receiving the dose and the frequency is less than one in one lakh. TTS was a rare syndrome reported in people who received a Covid-19 adenovirus vector-based vaccine in 2021 during clinical trials.

The company had disclosed the information in its clinical trials. In 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed this data, specifying that instances of Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) have been documented following administration of the Covid-19 vaccines, Vaxzevria and Covishield.

ARE SIDE EFFECTS COMMON IN VACCINES?

While Covishield had a rare side effect, the same was the case with other Covid-19 vaccines as well, like Pfizer, in which studies published in Vaccine revealed that both Pfizer and Moderna could cause rare side effects like myocarditis (heart muscles get inflamed) and pericarditis (swelling of the heart tissue).

It just means that every vaccine can have a side effect but it is "very rare."

"If you were to look at the frequency of side effects, even common drugs like antibiotics can have rare side effects at frequencies of less than one in one lakh. So to get excited about that doesn't make sense. These things occur. To be honest, even drinking lauki ka juice (bottle gourd juice) can also cause side effects in rare cases," said Dr Anurag Agrawal, pulmonologist and medical researcher at Ashoka University, told IndiaToday.In.

BUT, ARE VACCINES SAFE TO TAKE?

The vaccines developed to combat Covid-19 across the world have been one of the most successful medical developments in modern medical science.

The vaccine development normally takes decades to go through the system, but that was not the case with Covid-19 vaccines, which saw a global collaboration across companies, institutions and even countries bypassing the red tape and bureaucracy to see the light of the day.

"Vaccines are absolutely safe," Dr Agrawal says emphatically. "They save lives."

To prevent any infectious disease, if there's an available vaccine for everyone, it is recommended to take it, repeated Dr Soma Dutta, Microbiologist, Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals. "One thing we should keep in mind, vaccines can't remove the disease occurrence, it can reduce the severity of the disease," Dr Dutta told IndiaToday.In.

Vaccines produce antibodies that help memory cells to fight against the virus.

Dr Agrawal suggested people not to worry about taking vaccines or who have taken the Covishield vaccine as side effects are a part of any food item.

"Someone might not be able to tolerate a glass of juice and their blood sugar might go up. Some people have had liver problems after drinking karela ka juice. No matter what you do, there can be rare side effects," said Dr Agrawal.

IS COVISHIELD SAFE?

Distinguishing between Covid-related symptoms and vaccine side effects is crucial. Experts maintained that the Covishield vaccine remains safe and people should not worry about their health as any side effect, if it was to occur, would have occurred in the initial few weeks of getting vaccinated.

"Presently, lingering effects may stem from long Covid rather than vaccine side effects. Although the vaccine's potential side effects were communicated earlier, no one talked about it at the time due to the urgent need for mass vaccination amidst time constraints," Dr M Wali, Senior Consultant, Department of Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital added.

More than 80% of Indians opted for Covishield as it was the first available option. All vaccines carry potential side effects, and as a transparency measure, the manufacturers disclosed this information on the vial packaging.

Vaccines remain the most effective tool against Coronavirus and should not be ignored amid the growing noise.

Published By:

Daphne Clarance

Published On:

May 1, 2024

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AstraZeneca row: Vaccines come with caution, here's what makes them safe - India Today