AstraZeneca initiates withdrawal of Covid vaccine globally: report
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London: AstraZeneca has initiated a global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine citing commercial reasons from a "surplus of available updated vaccines" for COVID-19, The Telegraph reported.
The vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and produced by the Serum Institute of India as Covishield, has raised health concerns after the British pharmaceutical company admitted the probability of causing a rare side effects.
Meanwhile, AstraZeneca reportedly said the vaccine was superseded by updated vaccines to tackle new variants.
Initiating a voluntary withdrawal of its “marketing authorisation” in the European Union, the company said that the vaccine is no longer produced and can no longer be used.
The pharmaceutical company will initiate similar withdrawal in other countries as well.
AstraZeneca is in the middle of a 100 million pound lawsuit in UK over complaints of the vaccine having caused deaths and injuries to several people.
The pharmaceutical giant in a court documents admitted that the vaccine could cause "in very rare cases, cause TTS or Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome".
Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, which causes blood clots and low platelet count in humans, was linked to 81 deaths in UK.
“According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic. As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path forward to conclude this chapter and significant contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic," AstraZeneca reportedly said in a statement.
