For the first time, AstraZeneca has admitted that its COVID vaccine can cause a deadly blood clot side effect known as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).

The admission comes as the pharmaceutical giant faces a multi-million dollar class action by dozens of families in the UK alleging serious harm and deaths caused by their ‘defective’ COVID vaccine.

AstraZeneca is contesting the claims and acknowledged in a legal document submitted in court in February that its vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”.

According to the Melbourne Vaccine Education Centre, TTS “is characterised by thrombosis formation (blood clots) combined with thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) with symptoms typically presenting in the 4-42 days after vaccination.” They also say that the risk of developing TTS after 1 dose was approximately 2.6 per 100,000 persons, with those under 60 years of age experiencing more severe outcomes.

The World Health Organization describes TTS as “a serious and life-threatening adverse event.”

TTS has been accepted as a potential side effect of the jab in the past, but this marks the first case that AstraZeneca has admitted it, opening the door to potential settlements.

The recent acknowledgment contradicts its firm statement in 2023 that it would “not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level.”

In March 2023, the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care announced that Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) was no longer an approved COVID vaccine in Australia.

The AstraZeneca vaccine had previously been approved for use as a primary course vaccine in Australia on 15 February 2021 and as a booster on 8 February 2022. Almost 14 millions doses of the jab were administered to Australians during its approved period.