AstraZeneca withdraws COVID-19 vaccine worldwide, cites surplus of available updated vaccines

UK-headquartered pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has started a worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine, a British daily reported.

The vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca in partnership with Oxford University and produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) as Covishield, is now being withdrawn from distribution globally.

The announcement comes days after media reports suggested that the drugmaker had admitted in court documents that the vaccine can cause side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

However, the vaccine manufacturer denied any link between the withdrawal of Covishield and the court case.

"According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over three billion doses were supplied globally. Our efforts have been recognised by governments around the world and are widely regarded as being a critical component of ending the global pandemic. As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. We will now work with regulators and our partners to align on a clear path forward to conclude this chapter and significant contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic," AstraZeneca said in a statement.

The withdrawal process, which started on March 5, officially took effect on May 7, the newspaper reported.