Thousands of Britons demand compensation for COVID vaccination consequences

In the UK, almost 14,000 people have applied for compensation for damage to health that they believe was caused by vaccination against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, The Telegraph reports.

According to the newspaper, payments have already been received by people who have suffered a stroke , heart attack, dangerous blood clots, inflammation of the spinal cord, excessive swelling and facial paralysis. About 97% of them were vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine, the rest - with drugs from Pfizer or Moderna.

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) has been in place in Britain since 1979. In total, about 16,000 people have applied to the authorities under the scheme, the vast majority of claims related to COVID-19 vaccinations , the publication notes.

So far, the government has approved 175 applications, or less than 2% of the total. Victims have received a one-off payment of £120,000 (about $155,000), while more than 5,500 applications have been rejected.

Vaxzevria (AZD1222), developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is a vector vaccine that uses a carrier made from another virus, called a vector, to deliver the genetic information of the SARS-CoV-2 virus into the human body . Clinical trials showed that the drug was 70% effective. Production began before testing was completed in June 2020, and the UK was the first country in the world to approve its use .

The vaccine has been approved by the WHO and regulators in more than 70 countries, but not in the United States .

In May, the European Medicines Agency announced that the vaccine's EU authorization had been revoked at the request of the pharmaceutical giant. At the same time, AstraZeneca announced a worldwide recall of the drug, citing falling demand as the official reason. A week earlier, the pharmaceutical giant acknowledged for the first time that the vaccine could cause a deadly side effect: blood clots.