AstraZeneca is withdrawing its Oxford Covid vaccine worldwide

AstraZeneca is withdrawing its original Covid-19 vaccine worldwide. The Oxford vaccine has been voluntarily withdrawn from the European Union and will be withdrawn worldwide.

The request to withdraw the vaccine took effect on Tuesday, The Telegraph reports. The Vaxzevria jab will now be withdrawn in the UK and worldwide.

Vaxzevria can trigger a rare side effect that causes blood clots and low platelet counts – Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. The syndrome has been linked to at least 81 deaths in the UK. But AstraZeneca says the decision to withdraw the vaccine is not related to the side effect or court cases over it.

Instead, it is being withdrawn as it has been superseded by newer vaccines.

In a statement, the company said: “We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic. According to independent estimates, more than 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and more than three billion doses were provided globally.

“Our efforts have been recognized by governments around the world and are widely seen as a critical component of ending the global pandemic.

“Since several vaccines with Covid-19 variants have been developed, there is a surplus of updated vaccines available. This led to a decrease in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer manufactured or supplied. Therefore, AstraZeneca has taken the decision to initiate the withdrawal of marketing authorizations for Vaxzevria in Europe.

“We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path to close this chapter and make a meaningful contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic.”

AstraZeneca said: “We will work with regulatory authorities globally to initiate the withdrawal of marketing authorization for Vaxzevria where no future commercial demand for the vaccine is expected.”

The UK government has stopped using the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine until autumn 2021 after delivering 50 million doses to the UK.