AstraZeneca is withdrawing its Covid vaccine worldwide citing surplus of newer jabs.
It has been withdrawn from the European Union, where it is branded as Vaxzevria, with the application made last month and it came into effect on Tuesday. And now similar applications for the vaccine to be withdrawn are to be made in other countries including the UK.
AstraZeneca has said that the withdrawals are down to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” that are targeting new variants of Covid. In a reported statement it explained that there are a variety of newer vaccines that have been adapted to target Covid variants which has led to a decline in demand for the AstraZeneca option.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson told The Mirror: “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 of Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzervria, 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.”
Spectacular New Year fireworks light up London sky as huge crowds celebrate across UK for first time in three years
The pharmaceutical giant was brought in during the height of the coronavirus pandemic by the Boris Johnson government. While it is found to be safe it did carry a risk of a rare but serious side-effect known as thrombosis.
This condition thrombosis with thrombocytopenia 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 effects or the court cases in relation to it.
The UK Government stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine by autumn 2021 after delivering 50million doses in the UK. The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been available in Australia since 2023 with its government stating that “There was a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare but serious side effect called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS)”.
It stated: There was a link between the AstraZeneca vaccine and a rare but serious side effect – thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS). TTS can cause long-term disability and death. TTS involves blood clotting (thrombosis) combined with low platelets (thrombocytopenia). Blood clots can appear in different parts of the body such as the brain or abdomen (belly). TTS is thought to be immune-mediated. The risk of TTS was higher in younger people, so ATAGI (Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation) preferred an alternative to AstraZeneca for people under 60 years of age. The other COVID-19 vaccines are not associated with TTS.”
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
