AstraZeneca withdraws its Covid vaccine citing commercial reasons

UK-based pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, that was sold in India as Covishield, has been withdrawn worldwide just days after it acknowledged in court documents that its vaccine can cause a rare and dangerous side effect.

The pharmaceutical giant, however, claimed that the vaccine is being removed from the market for "commercial reasons".

The Telegraph reported the company as saying that the vaccine is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

While calling the decision "purely coincidental", the pharmaceutical giant claimed that the withdrawal of the vaccine is not linked to its courtroom admission that it can cause Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.

The company withdrew its "marketing authorisation" and the vaccine is no longer authorised for use in the European Union. The withdrawal application was submitted on March 5 andtook effect on Tuesday (May 7).

Similar applications will be submitted in the UK and other countries that had previously approved the vaccine, known as Vaxzevria.

Vaxzevria, too, is under global scrutiny due to a rare side effect that causes blood clots and low blood platelet count.

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Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (or TTS) has been linked with at least 81 deaths in the UK, along with numerous serious injuries. AstraZeneca is facing lawsuits from over 50 such alleged victims and relatives of the deceased in the UK.

"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 are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic," AstraZeneca said, as quoted by The Telegraph.

(With inputs from agencies)