AstraZeneca has announced the global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine, AZD1222, days after admitting for the first time in court documents that it can cause a rare and dangerous side effect. Developed in collaboration with The University of Oxford, the pharma giant stated that it made a commercial decision to withdraw the vaccine, despite being “incredibly proud” of it.
The vaccine, distributed in India and other low-and-middle-income countries as Covishield by the Serum Institute of India (SII), was halted due to a surplus of updated vaccines and declining demand. AstraZeneca noted that the emergence of multiple variant COVID-19 vaccines led to reduced demand for its vaccine, Vaxzevria, prompting the withdrawal.
Since December 2021, SII has ceased manufacturing and supplying additional doses of Covishield due to diminished demand and the emergence of new mutant variant strains. The company reiterated its commitment to transparency and safety, emphasizing that all rare side effects, including Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, were disclosed in the packaging insert in 2021. Despite challenges, SII stressed the importance of vaccine safety and acknowledged the role of both AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria and Covishield in saving lives globally.
Post Your Comments