Don’t let anti-vaxxers weaponise AstraZeneca furore. Vaccines are safe—and we are the proof

Vaccines have eliminated two diseases—smallpox in humans and rinderpest in cattle. If they were killing one in 50,000 people, we wouldn’t be rolling them out across the globe for decades.

Representative image | Reuters

Health experts around the world have been reiterating the safety of vaccines, even as evidence continues to reveal how effective they are at saving lives. Nevertheless, paranoia over the administration of vaccines is spreading across the political spectrum.

The recent lawsuit against AstraZeneca has raised a completely unnecessary furore over something that has been known to us for many years now— that vaccines cause rare side effects, and that one of those effects is a blood clotting disorder that could be fatal. Reactions to the lawsuit, as well as AstraZeneca’s admission in a UK court that Covishield vaccine can cause a rare blood clot disorder in “very rare cases”, have ranged from confusion to fear-mongering, which has prompted public health experts to voice concern.

The operative part in AstraZeneca’s statement is ‘very rare’. In medicine, “very rare” means “extremely, extremely, extremely rare”. Many studies have explored how safe the vaccines are and how rare the potential side-effects of Covishield—Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), more accurately Vaccine‐induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT)—are. A 2024 multi-country study shows 7 cases of TTS in nearly 99 million individuals across different types of vaccines. To put that in perspective, a person is more likely to be hit by lightning (1 in 775,000), die by a shark attack (one in 3.75 million), hit by a meteorite (one in 250,000), or become a billionaire (34 per million).

The most confused among the reactionary crowd seem to be those currently wondering whether they are safe after their double dose of Covishield about three years ago. The fact is that symptoms, if any, present themselves within 42 days or six weeks of the vaccine being administered. The fact that you are alive three years later and haven’t shown any serious symptoms means you are not at risk and completely safe.

Unfortunately, the recent AstraZeneca news coincides with the electoral bonds matter—with the Serum Institute of India (SII) being a common name in both. However, the billionaire owner, the company, and the bonds are independent of the Covishield vaccine safety and efficacy. The Serum Institute vaccines have been safe, reliable, and accessible—they are the lowest priced vaccine in the world—which are the main things pertinent to our discussion today.

The SII is the world’s largest manufacturer of vaccines, producing them since 1966. Today, they make 1.9 billion doses a year. If a person in India gets a tetanus shot or a newborn gets an MMR vaccine, chances are, they have been manufactured by the SII. Their vaccines have been used by multiple countries as well as international agencies such as the WHO and UNICEF. Besides, any other manufacturer would have used the same formula as AstraZeneca, which developed Covishield in collaboration with the Oxford University.

Fight weaponisation, not vaccine

Given this context that helps explain the AstraZeneca’s acceptance of the possible side effects in “very rare cases”, just how worried should one be? The answer is, ‘Not much’.

Fighting vaccine hesitancy should not be an uphill battle after a global pandemic, and as those who want to rightfully criticise systems, we need to acquire the context behind vaccine numbers, the potential side effects and what health experts are saying about them. All these things exist on X (formerly Twitter) and other social media platforms, and are easy to access.

Vaccine hesitancy has been weaponised by those against vaccination (for no scientific reason whatsoever). Therefore, one needs to be careful while participating in discussions on vaccines.

What’s most perplexing about the latest outrage is that there is nothing new that has come out to be angry or worried about. Vaccine labels come equipped with information about rare adverse events and contraindications. Studies have been published about VITT since the vaccines began to be rolled out three years ago. The fact that AstraZeneca has officially talked about the side effect now doesn’t mean that health experts were not aware of it previously.

The probability of an adverse event is extremely low because vaccines have been around since the 1800s, and have saved billions of lives so far. We have completely eliminated two diseases because of vaccines — smallpox in humans and rinderpest in cattle. If vaccines went about killing one in 50,000 people or even one in 250,000, we wouldn’t be rolling them out across the globe for decades.

All of this is not to say that vaccine rollouts in India were smooth and without fault. Scientists were asked to get a vaccine out in two months. How? As cases spread, politicians, including the Prime Minister, were holding massive election rallies. How come? Coronil makers apologising? What’s up with that? What about efficacy? Adverse event reporting is non-existent. Why? All of these are valid questions. But they are all firmly on one side of the debate. The other side is the one whose questions have already been answered. Vaccines are good, even when companies are sued. What India firmly does not need and should never get is an RFK Jr running for elections.

There are two subjects in the overlapping political and scientific discourse that are sacrosanct — vaccines and climate change. Behind every headline and update are thousands of scientists who have crunched numbers, built upon the work of thousands of other sharp minds. Touching these topics requires a deeper knowledge and context for the safety of our own citizens and future generations.

Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant)