(VOVWORLD) - Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca began the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus.
 AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The announcement follows the pharmaceutical giant voluntarily withdrawing its European Union marketing authorization in March, for “Vaxzevria – COVID-19 Vaccine”.
AstraZeneca is being sued in a class action over claims that its vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases.
AstraZeneca is contesting the claims but has accepted, in a legal document submitted to the UK High Court in February, that its COVID vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS)”.
TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine, or any vaccine, for that matter. Causation in any individual case will be a matter for expert evidence, the pharmaceutical giant added in its February submission.