The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has been withdrawn from the market, coming after the company admitted that its vaccine, Vaxzevria, can cause severe side effects.
According to The Telegraph, the vaccine is now barred from use in the European Union after the company voluntarily withdrew its "marketing authorization."
The application to withdraw was filed on March 5, and went into effect on Tuesday.
AstraZeneca said that the Covid vaccine was being removed from the market for commercial reasons, stating that the vaccine was no longer being supplied or manufactured as newer, updated vaccines that go after new variants of the illness came onto the market.
In recent months, the vaccine came under scrutiny over a rare and sometimes fatal side effect that can cause blood clots and low blood platelet counts.
In court documents filed with the High Court in February, the company admitted that the vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS."
TTS stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome and has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the UK with hundreds of serious injuries being reported. More than 50 people have sued the company over deaths and injuries related to the vaccine. The company has said that withdrawing the vaccine from the market is not related to the court case.
"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," the company said in a statement. "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."
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
