Days after the UK pharmaceutical company acknowledged that its Covid-19 vaccination may induce a rare side effect known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), AstraZeneca said on Tuesday that it started the global withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine.
The company stated that the withdrawal was due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” following the pandemic.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker reportedly admitted in court documents that the vaccination had negative side effects, including low blood platelet counts and blood clots.
The company also stated its intention to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria’s marketing authorizations in Europe, citing an oversupply that has resulted in a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer produced or distributed.
“As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines,” the company stated, saying that this has resulted in a decrease in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer manufactured or supplied.
AstraZeneca, which created the vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is presently facing legal action claiming that the vaccine has resulted in deaths and serious harm to people who have received it.
The UK-based pharma company also collaborated with the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world’s biggest vaccine manufacturer, to offer the vaccine (Covishield) to the Indian government.