MEXICO CITY (apro).- AstraZeneca will withdraw its covid vaccine worldwide after a “rare and dangerous” side effect related to 80 deaths in Great Britain was admitted in court documents, the British media Daily Mail reported.
The biological developed by the University of Oxford can no longer be used in the European Union after the company voluntarily withdrew its marketing authorization, which came into effect this Tuesday.
“The authorization of this medication has been withdrawn,” says a legend on the website of the European Medicine Agency regarding the drug Vaxzevria, the name by which the AstraZeneca vaccine is identified.
In accordance with Daily Mailsimilar requests to withdraw the vaccine will be made in other countries that had previously approved it, including the United Kingdom.
AstraZeneca admitted in February that the vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, which has been linked to more than 80 deaths in Britain, as well as hundreds of serious injuries, the British media recalled.
However, he added, the pharmaceutical company denied that the decision to withdraw the vaccine is related to the court case, insisting that it will be withdrawn from the markets for commercial reasons.
“Surplus vaccines”
Daily Mail cites a statement AstraZeneca sent to the Telegraph newspaper, in which the company said it was “incredibly proud” of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic.
“Our efforts have been recognized by governments around the world and are widely considered a critical component in ending the global pandemic,” he says.
Given that multiple Covid-19 vaccine variants have since been developed, “there is a surplus of updated vaccines available,” the British firm argued.
“This has led to a decrease in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer manufactured or supplied. For this reason, AstraZeneca has made the decision to begin the withdrawal of marketing authorizations for Vaxzevria in Europe.
“We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path forward to conclude this chapter and a significant contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he concludes.
