AstraZeneca withdraws its COVID-19 vaccine from global market

AstraZeneca announced on Wednesday that it would withdraw its coronavirus vaccine from the market, citing weak demand.

Although the vaccine was never authorized in the United States, it was widely used around the world during the early stages of the global vaccine drive.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine was cheaper to produce and easier to distribute than Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine, which was sent mainly to rich countries. It was the main shot being used by Covax, a global program to supply vaccines to low- and middle-income countries.

More than 3 billion doses have been delivered worldwide since the vaccine was first approved for emergency use by UK regulators in late 2020. Britain initially relied heavily on the AstraZeneca vaccine, but later purchased the mRNA vaccine for its COVID-19 booster campaign.

“We are extremely proud of the role Vaxebria 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.” a spokesperson said in a statement.

“Several mutant coronavirus vaccines have since been developed, resulting in a surplus of the latest vaccines available. This has reduced demand for Vaxelburia and resulted in its production and supply being discontinued.”

AstraZeneca’s vaccine did not perform as well as mRNA vaccines in clinical trials, but was still effective at preventing severe illness and death from the virus. The company has not updated its vaccine for different variants because it relies on existing vaccine technology, which has been difficult to update.

The company also asked the European Medicines Agency to withdraw its authorization for its vaccine, a move that came into effect this week, the agency announced. Update on website.

Shortly after its approval, there were reports across Europe that the vaccine was linked to rare blood clots.

The European Union’s top medicines regulator concluded that the side effects, although rare, should be listed, and the company updated its product information in April 2021. Some countries have restricted the use of the vaccine due to concerns about clotting, which could reduce uptake and demand.