AstraZeneca to withdraw Covid vaccine globally

AstraZeneca is withdrawing its Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, the company has confirmed, citing a “surplus of available updated vaccines” since the pandemic.

The pharmaceutical giant said it would begin the process of withdrawing the vaccine’s marketing authorisations in Europe, starting with the European Union.

The company said it would now work with other regulators around the world to initiate similar withdrawals for its Vaxzevria vaccine.

The company said it would now work with other regulators around the world to initiate similar withdrawals for its Vaxzevria vaccine.

The move comes after the company admitted in court documents earlier this year that the vaccine could, in very rare cases, cause a side effect known as TTS (Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome).

However, AstraZeneca said the decision to withdraw the vaccine was for commercial reasons and was not linked to the court case or the admission of the rare side effect.

The vaccine was one of the first to be developed and rolled out during the pandemic, and was widely credited with saving millions of lives globally.