Report: AstraZeneca Pulls Global Covid Vaccine Due to Commercial Reasons

AstraZeneca, a leading pharmaceutical company, has made the decision to globally withdraw its COVID-19 vaccine, known as Covishield, citing commercial reasons. This move comes in the wake of reports that the vaccine can cause rare side effects, including a condition called Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), which has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the UK.

The company stated that the withdrawal was initiated due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” for COVID-19, as newer vaccines have been developed to tackle different variants of the virus. AstraZeneca voluntarily withdrew its “marketing authorisation” in the European Union and announced that the vaccine is no longer being produced or used.

Despite facing a 100 million pound lawsuit in the UK over allegations of deaths and injuries caused by the vaccine, AstraZeneca maintains that the decision to withdraw Covishield is not related to the legal proceedings. The company emphasized that the vaccine has played a crucial role in saving lives and ending the global pandemic, with over 6.5 million lives estimated to have been saved in the first year of its use.

Experts predict that other “monovalent” vaccines, which target the original strain of the virus, will also be withdrawn and replaced with updated vaccines that can address a wider range of strains. AstraZeneca has stated that it will work with regulators and partners to determine the next steps in concluding this chapter of its contribution to the fight against COVID-19.