The company says the decision was made purely for commercial reasons, as alternatives to jab have been developed.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid vaccination is being withdrawn from the market worldwide. This comes months after the pharmaceutical company admitted in court documents for the first that the vaccine can cause a rare but dangerous side effect.
After the company withdrew their “marketing authorization”, the vaccine is no longer allowed to be used within the European Union. The company voluntarily retracted its “marketing authorisation” on 5 March.
In the UK, and other countries who have approved Vaxzevria as a vaccine, similar applications will be submitted in the next few months.
Boris Johnson hailed the jab as “a triumph for British science” , and it was credited to saving over six million lives.
AstraZeneca stated that the vaccine is being removed from the market for commercial reasons. The company said that the vaccine is no longer manufactured or distributed, as it has been replaced by newer vaccines which target new variants.
Vaxzevria, a vaccine that prevents blood clots from forming and lowers platelet counts in the blood, has been under scrutiny for months. AstraZeneca acknowledged in court documents filed with the High Court of February that the vaccine can “in very rare cases” cause TTS.
TTS, which stands for Thrombosis With Thrombocytopenia syndrome, has been linked with at least 81 UK deaths as well as hundreds serious injuries. AstraZeneca has been sued in High Court by over 50 grieving family members and alleged victims.
AstraZeneca insists that the decision to withdraw vaccine is not related to the court case, or to its admission of TTS. The timing of the announcement was a pure coincidence, according to AstraZeneca.
The company released a statement saying: “We’re incredibly proud of our role in ending the pandemic.” Independent estimates claim that over 6.5 millions lives were saved during the first year alone of its use, and more than three billion doses have been distributed globally.
“Our efforts are being recognized by governments all over the world. They are viewed as a crucial component in ending the pandemic.
As multiple variants of Covid-19 have been developed since then, there are a surplus available. Vaxzevria is no longer manufactured or distributed. This has caused a decrease in demand. AstraZeneca decided to withdraw the marketing authorizations for Vaxzevria in Europe.
The company will remove marketing authorizations from other countries including the UK where it has regulatory approval. AstraZeneca did not have approval to use the vaccine in the US.
The company stated: “We will work with regulatory authorities worldwide to initiate withdrawals of marketing authorisation for Vaxzevria where there is no expected future commercial demand for this vaccine.”
By the fall of 2021, the Government had stopped using the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine in large quantities. It had already supplied approximately 50 million doses to the UK. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were introduced in the UK in time for the winter booster at the end 2021.
Marco Cavaleri is the head of vaccines for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the agency responsible for the safety of drugs and medicines in the EU. He told Italian media that the anti-Covid vaccination Vaxzevria, manufactured by AstraZeneca, will be withdrawn. The process has been officially initiated with the European Commission. This is in line as we expected that outdated and no longer used vaccines would be withdrawn.
Mr Cavaleri stated that he expects all “monovalent vaccines” – which only dealt with the original Wuhan – to soon be withdrawn.
AstraZeneca acknowledged that the vaccine could cause TTS in an official document published in February of this year. The causal mechanism has not been identified.
Lawyers representing claimants in a High Court case say that the drug was unsafe and caused vaccine-induced immuno thrombocytopenia (VITT), a subset to TTS. AstraZeneca always insists that “patient safety has been our top priority”.
The company said: “The AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine has consistently shown an acceptable safety profile. Regulators around the globe have consistently stated that the benefits from vaccination outweigh any extremely rare side effects.”
Kate Scott’s husband Jamie suffered a permanent brain damage after receiving the vaccine. She was the first in the UK who brought a lawsuit.
They say that it’s for commercial reasons but it could be because the safety parameters are no longer acceptable. There have been 445 confirmed VITT cases, with 81 fatalities in the UK.
Mr Scott, 47 a father of 2 who had to quit his job, said, “This is great news. But I’ll always wish that they would have stopped it in the UK, as they did in some other countries, after only one case. The lives of more people could have been saved, and I wouldn’t be suffering as I do.”
Sarah Moore, partner of Leigh Day law firm, who is bringing these legal claims, stated: “To all those we represent, who have suffered serious injury or bereavement as a result the AstraZeneca vaccination, this decision will be welcomed. It ends the use of the AstraZeneca in the EU.
It will be seen that this decision is linked to AstraZeneca’s recent admission that vaccines can cause TTS and that regulators around the world have suspended or stopped the use of the vaccine due to concerns about TTS.
We will continue to fight for the compensation our clients need and campaign for reform of the vaccine damage payment scheme. We will continue our fight to get the compensation that our clients deserve and we will campaign for reforms of the vaccine damages payment scheme.
The Government-run scheme has compensated victims. The scheme has been called inadequate and victims have brought separate civil suits against AstraZeneca.