{"id":40719,"date":"2024-05-01T05:19:40","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T23:49:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=40719"},"modified":"2025-10-13T11:43:52","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T06:13:52","slug":"astrazenecas-covishield-and-thrombocytopenia-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/astrazenecas-covishield-and-thrombocytopenia-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"AstraZeneca&#8217;s Covishield and Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS)"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What is Covishield?<\/li>\n<li>What is Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS)?<\/li>\n<li>What exactly has AstraZeneca said?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<p>AstraZeneca, the company that makes the Covishield vaccine for Covid-19 pandemic, has admitted the inoculation has potential side effects.<\/p>\n<p>The company&#8217;s admission, presented in a legal document before the High Court of Justice in London, conveys that the Covid vaccine can in extremely rare cases induce Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).<\/p>\n<h2>What is Covishield?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2020, amid the Covid-19 outbreak, the United Kingdom (UK) pharmaceutical firm collaborated with the University of Oxford to develop the <strong>AZD1222 vaccine<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>In India, the vaccine produced by AstraZeneca was marketed under the brand name Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) in Pune.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Covishield in India\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Indian govt had issued a fact sheet in January 2021, in which it specifically said that Covishield should be given with caution to individuals with thrombocytopenia, that is, a condition of low platelet counts.<\/li>\n<li>India started administering the vaccines on January 16, 2021.<\/li>\n<li>Considering the total number of doses that had been administered since then, the number of potential thromboembolic events worked out to 0.61 cases per million doses.<\/li>\n<li>The Union Health Ministry said that Covishield continues to have a definite positive benefit-risk profile with tremendous potential to prevent infections and reduce deaths due to Covid-19.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>AstraZeneca vaccine in other countries<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In March 2021, many European countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, etc. temporarily paused the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine after a few cases of blood clotting were reported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Observations made by WHO<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Later in April 2021, the World Health Organisation (<a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/world-health-organisation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">WHO<\/a>) said TTS was being reported in some cases after vaccinations with Covishield.<\/li>\n<li>However, the WHO had added, based on latest available data, the risk of TTS with Covishield vaccines appears to be very low.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS)?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>TTS is a rare condition characterized by the formation of blood clots (thrombosis) in blood vessels and a low number of blood platelets (thrombocytopenia).<\/li>\n<li>It has been observed as an extremely rare adverse effect associated with certain COVID-19 vaccines, notably those that use adenovirus vectors, like the Covishield.\n<ul>\n<li>Adenovirus vectors are non-enveloped, double-stranded <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/dna\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">DNA<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/virus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">viruses<\/a> that are commonly used for gene therapy, vaccination, and cancer gene therapy.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They are considered the most efficient gene delivery vehicles due to their safety profile and expression.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mechanism<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The exact mechanism by which TTS occurs following vaccination with Covishield is not fully understood.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>However, it is hypothesised that the vaccine may trigger an immune response that leads to platelet activation and the formation of blood clots.\n<ul>\n<li>This is similar to autoimmune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.\n<ul>\n<li>Heparin is a well-known and commonly used anticoagulant which has antithrombotic properties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Symptoms of TTS<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>A range of symptoms are associated with TTS, including breathlessness, pain in the chest or limbs, pinhead-size red spots or bruising of the skin in an area beyond the injection site, headaches, numbness in body parts, etc.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>TTS could mean a restriction in the flow of blood due to clotting.<\/li>\n<li>Complications depend on where the thrombosis is located. The most serious problems include stroke, heart attack, and serious breathing problems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Who are at risk?<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Certain factors might predispose individuals to this condition, such as age, gender (more common in younger women), and possibly genetic factors.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What exactly has AstraZeneca said?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>AstraZeneca spoke about TTS in court documents following a suit brought against the company in the United Kingdom.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>The pharmaceutical giant is being sued over health claims related to the vaccine that it developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford amid the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>In court documents, AstraZeneca denied that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>However, it admitted to the possibility of TTS as a result of its vaccination in \u201cvery rare cases.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Q.1. What is Thrombosis?<\/h2>\n<p>Thrombosis is a serious condition that occurs when a blood clot, or thrombus, forms in a blood vessel or the heart, blocking blood flow. The clot can break loose and travel to other parts of the body, where it can cause life-threatening conditions if it gets stuck in a critical area.<\/p>\n<h2>Q.2. What is AstraZeneca?<\/h2>\n<p>AstraZeneca is a global biopharmaceutical company that focuses on science-led innovation to improve the impact of medicine on patients. The company&#8217;s vision is to transform healthcare by unlocking the power of science for people, society, and the planet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-health\/covishield-blood-clots-astrazeneca-tts-9298942\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Covishield could cause blood clots in very rare cases, manufacturer AstraZeneca has said. What does this mean?<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/lifestyle\/life-style\/pharmaceutical-company-astrazeneca-covishield-vaccine-tts-rare-condition-9298471\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Indian Express<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.business-standard.com\/companies\/news\/astrazeneca-s-covishield-causes-rare-blood-clot-disorder-tts-what-is-it-124043000340_1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Standard<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TTS is a rare condition characterized by the formation of blood clots and a low number of blood platelets .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40720,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40719","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40719\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}