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AstraZeneca admits its Covid-19 jab could cause a rare side effect

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Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has for the first time admitted that its Covid-19 vaccine could cause a rare side effect that could lead to blood clots and death, according to court documents.
The company is fighting a class action lawsuit alleging that its inoculation, which was developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, can result in death and serious injury.

The legal battle was initiated by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who suffered a blood clot that left him with brain damage after he was inoculated in April 2021 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. He is seeking compensation over claims that the AstraZeneca vaccine is “defective” and less safe than expected, an allegation the company denies.

In May 2023, AstraZeneca also insisted that “we do not accept that TTS [Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome] is caused by the vaccine at a generic level,” as quoted by The Daily Telegraph.

TTS is a rare condition, in which a person has blood clots, which could reduce the blood flow, combined with a low platelet count, which could prompt difficulties in stopping the bleeding. TTS symptoms include severe headaches and abdominal pain.

Despite previous denials, AstraZeneca said in court documents, which were submitted to the UK High Court in February but received media attention only recently, that “it is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known.”

“Further, TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine (or any vaccine),” the company added, as quoted by the Telegraph.

At the same time, AstraZeneca insists the available data shows the drug has “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.”

Dozens of Western countries suspended the use of AstraZeneca’s vaccine in the spring of 2021 over fears it may have caused some patients to develop blood clots.  At the time, the head of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) vaccines strategy, Marco Cavaleri, said that there was an evident link between AZ vaccine intake and blood clots in the brain, but maintained that the benefits still outweighed the risks.

According to World Health Organization data, the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine has an efficacy of 72%. As of April 2021, over 17 million people had received the jab in the EU and the UK, with just under 40 cases of thrombosis, according to the company.

(Agencies)

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Trump gives Elon Musk and Fox News host key jobs

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Elon Musk has been made head of a new “Department of Government Efficiency” by Donald Trump, the latest appointment to his emerging new team.

Trump says the billionaire businessman will co-lead the organisation with former Republican primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

It will “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” to “dismantle government bureaucracy” and cut spending – though it is not yet fully clear what form it will take.

Trump has also picked Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host and Army veteran, to be defence secretary, and John Ratcliffe as his director of national intelligence.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem has been chosen as Homeland Security Secretary.

Property developer Steve Witkoff – Trump’s long-time golf partner and a major campaign donor – has been named as special envoy to the Middle East, while former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee will be nominated as ambassador to Israel.

(BBC News)

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Zhuhai Airshow kicks off

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Zhuhai Airshow kicks offThe 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, also known as Airshow China or the Zhuhai Airshow, opened on Tuesday in Zhuhai City of south China’s Guangdong Province. 

The highly-anticipated biennial aerospace trade show will run until Sunday, and a four-hour flight demonstration, including performances of aerobatic teams and military jets, will be staged each day of the event. 

On the first day, China’s J-20 and J-35A stealth fighters, along with Russia’s Su-57 stealth fighter, performed stunning aerobatics on the same aerial stage for the first time. 

At the outdoor and indoor exhibition areas of the airshow, equipment of China’s army, navy and air forces are on display, including the debut of the J-15D carrier-based fighter, the debut of the HQ-19 surface-to-air missile weapon system, and the new reconnaissance and strike drone. 

This year’s airshow also features the debut of lunar soil samples brought back by China’s Chang’e-6 mission from the far side of the moon in June this year and a separate exhibition zone displaying unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ships. 

The airshow has attracted 1,022 companies from 47 countries and regions to showcase their star aviation and aerospace products, including a record number of products being debuted to the public at the event. 

On the sidelines of the airshow, domestic airlines signed orders with Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) for a total of 130 C909 and C919 passenger planes. 

Meanwhile, Air China has signed an intention agreement with COMAC to become the first customer of the C929 wide-body aircraft.

(CCTV +)

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Car plows into crowds, killing 35, injuring 43 in Zhuhai

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Thirty-five people died and 43 were injured after a car plowed into crowds at a stadium in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, local police reported on Tuesday.

At 19:48 pm on Monday, a divorced man surnamed Fan, 62, allegedly drove a small SUV through a barrier and forced his way into a sports center in Zhuhai, ramming people who were exercising on the road inside the venue, the city’s public security bureau said in a statement, adding that the injured were immediately sent to hospitals for medical treatment.

Fan was caught as he tried to cut himself with a knife in his car, the statement said, revealing that he is currently in a coma as a result of the serious self-inflicted injuries in his neck and other parts of his body.

Due to the coma, the police has been unable to question him, it added.

A preliminary investigation showed that the incident was allegedly triggered by Fan’s dissatisfaction with the split of financial assets in his divorce, police said.

Fan has been detained on suspicion of endangering public security, and further investigation into the incident and medical treatment of the injured are ongoing, it said.

(chinadaily.com.cn)

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