AstraZeneca recently admitted in a UK court document that its shot ‘can, in very rare cases, cause’ blood clots and low platelets.
AstraZeneca has commenced a global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, citing a “surplus” of updated jabs for new variants, months after acknowledging its rare risk of serious side effects.
The pharmaceutical giant’s jab, Vaxzevria, is no longer authorized in the European Union as of May 7, after AstraZeneca requested the withdrawal of its “marketing authorization” on March 5.
The removal of its authorization comes just weeks after the company admitted in a UK court document that its shot “can, in very rare cases, cause” blood clots and low platelets, a rare but serious condition known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TSS). The company had originally denied a causal link.
However, AstraZeneca did not cite the admission as contributing to its decision. Instead, it stated that there was now an “oversupply of updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.
In a statement to The Epoch Times, AstraZeneca said they “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 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.”
UK Class Action
Vaxzevria, a viral vector-based vaccine, was initially authorized for use in the European Union in January 2021.
The European withdrawal follows a similar removal of AstraZeneca’s vaccine from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods weeks ago, on April 23.
The removal in Australia was attributed to a “business decision of the company, due to no current or anticipated future demand of the vaccine, and follows similar business decisions made overseas.”
