AstraZeneca pulls COVID vaccine amid surplus and lawsuit turmoil

AstraZeneca, which has provided over 3 billion doses of the coronavirus vaccine worldwide, is pulling its products from the market. The reason, according to company representatives, is a surplus of available vaccine versions.

"Since the development of many variants of the COVID-19 vaccines, there has been a surplus of updated versions available," explained company representatives, quoting Reuters. They noted that the withdrawal was purely for commercial reasons due to the large quantities produced as the virus mutated, which were then superseded by newer vaccine versions.

"According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone," stated AstraZeneca, which sold over 3 billion doses of the vaccine to countries worldwide.

The British newspaper "The Telegraph," the first to report on this matter, highlighted that the company applied to withdraw the COVID-19 vaccine on March 5. This came several months after the company first acknowledged in court documents that the vaccine could lead to side effects, such as clotting or a decreased platelet count. On Tuesday, May 7, the decision to remove the product from the market was finalized.

A class-action lawsuit has been initiated against AstraZeneca. One case involved a father of two who suffered permanent brain damage due to thrombosis after receiving the vaccine in 2021. "His wife was called by the hospital three times, informing her that her husband was going to pass away," reported the British newspaper.

Source: Reuters, "The Telegraph," "The Guardian"