Home / Health

AstraZeneca says it will withdraw COVID-19 vaccine globally as demand dips

A vial labelled "AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine" is seen in this illustration taken January 16, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File)

By Reuters | 08 May 2024

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

AstraZeneca (AZN.L) said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic.

The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria's marketing authorisations within Europe.

Keep reading

"As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the company said, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

According to the media, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

The firm's application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the development.

The admission came after the company was slapped with a class action lawsuit in the UK which claimed that the vaccine had caused deaths and severe injuries and sought damages up to £100m for about 50 victims.

“It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known,” AstraZeneca said in court documents in February, the newspaper reported.

TTS is Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, which is characterised by blood clots and low blood platelet counts in humans.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was developed in collaboration with Oxford University and produced by the Serum Institute of India. It was widely administered in over 150 countries, including Britain and India.

London-listed AstraZeneca began moving into respiratory syncytial virus vaccines and obesity drugs through several deals last year after a slowdown in growth as COVID-19 medicine sales declined.