AstraZeneca Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccine Around The World

UNSPLASH ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - AstraZeneca will withdraw the COVID-19 vaccine globally due to declining demand. This withdrawal occurred after a lot of attention about the side effects that emerged from the vaccine.

AstraZeneca said it had started withdrawing the COVID-19 vaccine worldwide due to the latest vaccine surplus available since the pandemic.

The company also said it would continue to revoke vaccine distribution permits for Vaxzevria in Europe.

"With the various variants of the COVID-19 vaccine that have been developed, there is a surplus of the latest vaccines available," the company said.

AstraZeneca said the vaccine surplus caused a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which was no longer produced or supplied.

In its report, the British-Swedish drug manufacturer previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine caused side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelets.

The company's request to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and comes into effect on May 7, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the development.

London-listed AstraZeneca began switching to respiratory virus vaccines and obese drugs through several deals last year following a slowdown in growth due to a decline in sales of COVID-19 drugs.