AstraZeneca decided to withdraw its Covid vaccine worldwide, after admitting in court documents that it can cause a deadly side effect related to blood clotting.
The pharmaceutical giant reported that it will file requests to stop the sale of the vaccine known as Vaxzevria. “We will partner with regulatory authorities globally to initiate marketing authorisation withdrawals,” they said.
The company has already voluntarily requested that the sale of the drug be stopped before the European Commission, and after the authorization that comes into force this Tuesday, the vaccine can no longer be marketed in the European Union. In Australia, the Therapeutic Products Authority also suspended its use in April last year, and it is expected that in the coming months AstraZeneca will make applications to remove its product from the United Kingdom and the rest of the countries.
The decision to recall the vaccine comes as the company faces lawsuits from more than 50 people who claim the vaccine caused serious injuries and even death to their loved ones.
AstraZeneca admitted in court documents filed in February with the United Kingdom's High Court, that the vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS(thrombocytopenia thrombosis syndrome)," an extremely rare medical condition in which blood clots occur along with a low count of platelets, which are essential for blood clotting.
However, the company assures that the decision to withdraw the vaccine is not linked to these lawsuits, but rather has to do with commercial reasons.
“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 (....)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 authorizations,” he stated.
Despite the withdrawal of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, concerns about pharmaceutical companies' safety and liability continue to be debated.
