Couple to sue Serum Institute over daughter’s death after taking Covishield

Guwahati, May 3: Following UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca’s admission in court documents that the COVID vaccine Covishield is likely to cause rare side effects, the parents of a young woman who allegedly died after being vaccinated with Covishield are planning to file a lawsuit against the world’s largest vaccine maker as well as the British pharma giant that developed it during the pandemic.

According to reports, Venugopal Govindan lost his 20-year-old daughter, Karunga, in 2021 due to alleged complications related to vaccination. 

In a post on the microblogging site X, Govindan said, “As a responsible manufacturer, AstraZeneca, and its Indian Manufacturer, Serum Institute should have stopped the manufacture and supply of these vaccines when 15 European countries either suspended or age limited these vaccines due to the deaths from blood clots that happened in 2021 March, within couple of months of the rollout of the vaccine itself.”

While echoing the sentiments of other parents who have lost their children, Govindan added, “The grieving parents are fighting for justice in various courts and for reasons best known to our judicial system we are not getting a hearing for our cases. The fundamental principles of bodily autonomy, full disclosure and informed consent have all been violated with impunity. There has been failure to discharge their duties, either due to criminal intentions or due to negligence from the Manufacturer, the Government at policy making side or expert bodies advising the Govt. We will pursue our current cases till the end.”  

Govindan further said that if sufficient remedies aren’t obtained, the couple would file fresh cases against the manufacturers because of whose actions the deaths of the children after being vaccinated ensued.  

“Eight of the victims’ families have connected and I am echoing the common sentiments of all of us,” he said. 

Earlier, Rachana Gangu, who lost her 18-year-old daughter Rithaika in 2021, and Govindan had filed a writ petition in the apex court, appealing for the appointment of a medical board to probe the deaths of their daughters.

It may be mentioned that AstraZeneca admitted in court documents that the vaccine can cause rare side effects and, in some cases, a condition that leads to blood clots and a low platelet count.

Covidshield, created in collaboration with Oxford University during the pandemic, was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and widely distributed as part of the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.

The admission by AstraZeneca emerged during ongoing litigation in the United Kingdom over claims that its vaccine caused deaths and severe injuries in several cases. Victims in as many as 51 cases in the UK High Court are seeking damages up to 100 million pounds.