AstraZeneca Rolls Back Covid-19 Vaccine Amid Row Over Side- Effects, Terms It 'Purely Coincidental'

Amid the simmering row over the UK-based AstraZeneca's recent admission of its Covid-19 vaccine being capable of causing a 'rare' blood-clotting related ailment called Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), the pharmaceutical giant has announced global withdrawal of the vaccine citing commercial reasons.

According to AstraZeneca, the vaccine is no longer being manufactured or supplied, UK daily The Telegraph said on Tuesday.

As per reports, the company voluntarily rolled back its "marketing authorisation" and the vaccine is no longer authorised for use in the European Union. The withdrawal application was submitted on March 5 and took effect on Tuesday. It has been notified by the company that similar withdrawal applications would be submitted in the UK and other countries that had previously approved the vaccine.

What did the company say?

Terming the move "purely coincidental", the pharma giant has asserted that the decision to withdraw the vaccine was not linked to its admission that it can cause TTS - Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.

Instead, the decision was taken due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic which has led to a decline in demand for AstraZeneca's vaccine Vaxzevria.

"As multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines," the company said.

“We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic. According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic," AstraZeneca said as quoted by the Telegraph.

The TTS controversy

Astrazeneca's vaccine, globally known as Vaxzevria, or Covishield in India, came under scrutiny as recently the UK-based pharma company admitted in court documents that in 'very rare cases' Covishield could cause a blood clot-related side effect.

Thrombosis Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS) has been associated with at least 81 deaths in the UK, along with numerous serious injuries.

AstraZeneca's admission on court paper came as the pharmaceutical company was facing a class-action lawsuit that alleged serious injuries and deaths resulting from its vaccine which was manufactured in collaboration with the University of Oxford.

In India, the AstraZeneca vaccine was manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and was marketed as Covishield.