AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) has declared a worldwide cessation of its COVID-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, due to an “excess of updated vaccines.”
What Happened: The company began the withdrawal process on Tuesday, attributing the decision to the proliferation and availability of multiple variants of COVID-19 vaccines, which have resulted in reduced demand for Vaxzevria, Reuters reported on Wednesday. As a result, production and supply of the vaccine have been discontinued.
In addition to this, AstraZeneca is set to revoke Vaxzevria’s marketing authorizations within Europe. The request to withdraw the vaccine was lodged on Mar. 5 and took effect on May 7, as reported by the Telegraph.
It is worth noting that AstraZeneca has previously conceded in court documents that Vaxzevria can induce side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.