AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine globally, months after admitting rare side effects

New Delhi: The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine is being reportedly withdrawn worldwide, months after the pharmaceutical company admitted for the first time in court documents that it can cause a rare side effect.

The vaccine can no longer be used in the European Union after the company voluntarily withdrew its “marketing authorisation”. The application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on Tuesday.

Calling the decision purely coincidental, the Pharma giant has cited “surplus of available updated vaccines” as the reason behind the withdrawal.

They said that the vaccine is no longer being manufactured or supplied, said on Tuesday.

AstraZeneca said the decision was made because there is now a variety of newer vaccines available that have been adapted to target Covid-19 variants. This had led to a decline in demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

In a statement the company said, “We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in 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,” the company said.

AstraZeneca came under intense scrutiny in recent months over a very rare side effect, which causes blood clots and low blood platelet counts. The company admitted that the vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”.