Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine claimed to be ‘defective’ in landmark legal case

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been claimed to be “defective” according to a landmark legal case.

The Covid jab which was given to thousands in the UK is facing claims that its efficacy was “vastly overstated”.

The test case has been brought forward by Jamie Scott who was left with a permanent brain injury as a result of a blood clot after he received the jab in April 2021.

A second claim is being brought forward by the widower of Alpa Tailor, who died after receiving the vaccine.

AstraZeneca told the Telegraph that patient safety was its “highest priority”.

It added that its vaccine had “continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile” and that regulators around the world “consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects”.

The test cases could open the doors to a further 80 claims and could cost an estimated £80million in damages.

Damage claims could be raised over a new condition known as Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombocytopenia and Thrombosis (VITT) which was identified following the AstraZeneca rollout.

The WHO backed the vaccine last year, saying the jab was “safe and effective for all individuals aged 18 and above”.

They added that cases of VITT which prompted the legal action was “very rare”.

When the vaccine was launched, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the jab as a “triumph for British science”.

However, the jab is now no longer used in the UK with the current Government recommending three other vaccines for its autumn boost programme.

Following the discovery of VITT after the rollout of the vaccine, the jab was no longer recommended for under-40s as it was deemed the risk of receiving the jab outweighed the (so-called) harm posed by Covid.

In its legal response, AstraZeneca denies causing Scott’s injuries.