Summarised by Centrist
AstraZeneca has initiated a worldwide withdrawal of its COVID vaccine, Vaxzevria. This move comes after the company recently admitted in a UK court document that its vaccine can, “in very rare cases”, cause deadly blood clots and low platelets – a link the company had originally denied.
Despite this admission, AstraZeneca did not attribute its decision to the potentially fatal complications, but rather to the availability of other updated vaccines.
The admission of the vaccine’s “rare” side effects came to light through a UK high court document from February of this year. This was subsequently made public in late April during a class action legal battle in the UK involving claims of injuries and deaths allegedly caused by AstraZeneca’s vaccine.
As of early May, Vaxzevria is no longer authorised in the European Union, with the company requesting the withdrawal of its marketing authorisation.
The withdrawal follows a similar removal of the vaccine from the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods due to a collapse in demand.
The pharmaceutical giant stated that over three billion doses of Vaxzevria were supplied globally.
