NOS News•today, 03:49
British drug manufacturer AstraZeneca is withdrawing its corona vaccine worldwide. The company said in a statement that there are enough other vaccines on the market, making AstraZeneca’s vaccine no longer necessary. It has not been administered in the Netherlands since the end of 2021.
The manufacturer admitted in a court document earlier this year that the vaccine can cause TTS (thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome) in very rare cases, writes the British newspaper The Telegraph. A class action against AstraZeneca is underway in the United Kingdom. No mention of this is made in the statement.
TTS is a combination of clot formation and a low platelet count that often has a serious course. The condition can be fatal. There have also been reports of TTS after administration of the injection in the Netherlands. The vaccine, also known as Vaxzevria, can no longer be administered in the European Union due to the withdrawal, writes The Telegraph.
Image problems
In the statement, the manufacturer cites the importance of the vaccine in the corona pandemic. “According to independent estimates, the vaccine saved more than 6.5 million lives in the first year alone and more than three billion doses were administered worldwide.”
At the time of its development, the AstraZeneca vaccine was seen as one of the key frontrunners in the vaccine race. It is a so-called vector vaccine, in which genetic material from the coronavirus has been added to a cold virus. But early after its launch, the vaccine suffered from image problems. There were supply problems and questions were raised about effectiveness among the elderly.
The Netherlands stopped using AstraZeneca jabs in November 2021. The Health Council then advised that people with a first injection of AstraZeneca should have their second injection with Pfizer. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines showed greater efficacy against infection.
