AstraZeneca Announces Worldwide Withdrawal of COVID-19 Vaccine
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has announced a global withdrawal of its Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, known as Vaxzevria, after acknowledging in court that the vaccine could cause rare but serious side effects.
The decision comes months after the company admitted for the first time in court documents that the vaccine could lead to Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), a condition involving blood clots and low blood platelet counts.
AstraZeneca voluntarily withdrew its marketing authorization for Vaxzevria in the European Union, with the withdrawal taking effect on Tuesday following an application made on March 5, the Telegraph reported.
Despite the timing, AstraZeneca insists that the decision to pull the vaccine from the market was based on commercial reasons,
