AstraZeneca Withdraws COVID-19 Vaccine Globally Amid Declining Demand and Legal Challenges

AstraZeneca, one of the major pharmaceutical companies, has decided to stop manufacturing its COVID-19 Vaccine called Vaxzevria from the global market because of a decline in demand and approaching of newer, variant-specific vaccines. It followed the company’s encounter with litigation over the Covishield vaccine, which was manufactured and sold in India through a partnership with Serum Institute of India. The withdrawal process kicked in after AstraZeneca ran low on the updated vaccine and the demand for Vaxzevria was dwindling. The company noted how Vaxzevria had been instrumental in the fight against the global pandemic, having delivered more than three billion doses worldwide and possibly saving over six million lives. It saved 5 million lives in the first year of use. Moreover, the vaccine was less effective against later variants of the COVID-19 virus such as Omicron variant after a certain time period1. Moreover, the vaccine was highly criticized because of a small number of cases of rare adverse effect called “thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome” (TTS) that affected two to three individuals in every 100,000 vaccinated ones.

As AstraZeneca reported at the end of February 2024 in UK High Court documents that Vaxzevria “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”. At the moment, the company has a bribery case in the UK, with more than fifty plaintiffs claiming that they had been affected by the vaccine. An Indian family where a member had a bad outcome or died after the Covishield vaccine is also going to file legal action in the future. Nonetheless, AstraZeneca highlighted the fact that the decision of the withdrawal of this vaccine is unrelated to the court case or the safety risks of TTS. The pharmaceutical giant announced that the increasing number of people who got revaccinated and obtained new ones led to the withdrawal of Vaxzevria from the market. The European Union and other countries where Vaxzevria was approved have announced that they will stop supplying the vaccine in a few months. AstraZeneca will team up with regulators and partners so as to “find the clear way clearly and to close this chapter”.

Finally, as a result of fact that AstraZeneca ended their global pandemic immunization program with Vaxzevria is an important step. Vaccine was the pillar for saving millions of lives by offering excellent protection against deadly diseases. However, the emergence of more effective vaccines and legal cases related to its Covishield counterpart remain reason for its discontinuation. AstraZeneca planned as the world transitions into a post-pandemic era, the decision is a good example of how the pharmaceutical industries continue to keep adjusting to new conditions and innovation.