Yahoo News AstraZeneca withdrawing its Oxford Covid vaccine worldwide
AstraZeneca is withdrawing its original Covid vaccine worldwide. The Oxford vaccine has been voluntarily withdrawn from the European Union and will be withdrawn throughout the world.
The application to withdraw the vaccine came into effect on Tuesday, reports The Telegraph. The Vaxzevria jab will now be withdrawn in the UK and around the world.
Vaxzevria can trigger a rare side effect which causes blood clots and low blood platelet counts - Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome. The syndrome has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the UK. But AstraZeneca says the decision to withdraw the vaccine is not linked to the side effect or the court cases in relation to it.
Instead it is being withdrawn as it has been superseded by newer vaccines.
In a statement the company said: “We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic. 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. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied. AstraZeneca has therefore taken the decision to initiate withdrawal of the marketing authorisations for Vaxzevria within Europe.
“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 said: “We will partner with regulatory authorities globally to initiate marketing authorisation withdrawals for Vaxzevria, where no future commercial demand for the vaccine is expected.”
The UK Government stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by autumn 2021 after delivering 50million doses in the UK.
