AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine to Be Pulled from Markets Worldwide
AstraZeneca has initiated a worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, citing a surplus of updated vaccines and declining demand.
The company’s application to withdraw the vaccine’s marketing authorizations in Europe took effect on May 7, with similar actions planned for other countries, including the UK.
The decision comes months after AstraZeneca admitted in court documents that the vaccine can cause a rare and dangerous side effect known as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), which has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the UK and hundreds of serious injuries. The company is currently facing a High Court case brought by more than 50 alleged victims and grieving relatives.
Despite the admission and ongoing legal action, AstraZeneca maintains that the vaccine’s withdrawal is solely due to commercial reasons and not related to safety concerns. The company expressed pride in Vaxzevria’s role in ending the global pandemic, claiming that it saved over 6.5 million lives in the first year of use alone.
The European Medicines Agency’s head of vaccines, Marco Cavaleri, confirmed that the withdrawal process has officially started with the European Commission and expects all “monovalent” vaccines targeting only the original Wuhan strain to be withdrawn eventually.
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