The covid vaccine Vaxzevria from the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is no longer authorized in the EU. The deregistration, which was decided in March, took effect on Tuesday, according to a European Commission document. AstraZeneca requested the move itself “for commercial reasons”, the company confirmed in response to a request from the German news agency DPA. The reason is said to be a lack of demand. The deregistration comes as AstraZeneca admitted for the first time in court cases involving people who have suffered serious health consequences, including death, allegedly after being vaccinated with the vaccine, that the vaccine can have rare side effects.
“Given the number of available and effective vaccines for the new variants of Covid-19, there was no longer a demand for the Vaxzevria vaccine, which was subsequently no longer manufactured or distributed,” the company said, adding that it did not foresee further demand for the drug and therefore decided to cancel the registration of Vaxzevria within the EU.
The European Commission said in a statement that it is not unusual for companies to request the withdrawal of registration of medicinal products or vaccines for commercial reasons. “The decision is not based on doubts about the safety or efficacy of the vaccine,” the EC added in a statement. We wrote about the fact that some covid vaccines can cause side effects here.
The news comes just days after AstraZeneca admitted in a court filing that one of the rare side effects of its covid vaccine could be thrombotic syndrome with thrombocytopenia (TTS). A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Britain against a biopharmaceutical giant after a drug it developed with the University of Oxford caused serious health damage and several deaths, according to the lawsuit. O
“In very rare cases, the vaccine can cause thrombotic syndrome with thrombocytopenia (TTS). The causes are unknown,” media reports say in a document provided to the court by AstraZeneca. As reported by the Telegraph, 51 claims for compensation totaling approximately $125 million have been filed in the class action. It all began with a claim filed in 2023 by Jamie Scott, who suffered a brain haemorrhage after the vaccination, which caused permanent brain damage. According to his wife Kate, “it took three years for this confession to come. It’s progress, but we’d like to see more from them and the government. It’s time for things to move faster,” she told the Telegraph. “We need an apology, fair compensation for our family and other families that have been affected…” she added.
In a statement, AstraZeneca offered its condolences to individuals who have lost loved ones or reported health issues. The company emphasized that patient safety is its top priority, with regulatory authorities maintaining clear and strict standards for the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.
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