Admits side effect: Withdrawing Covid-19 vaccines!

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has announced that it is withdrawing its Covid-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, worldwide.

In a statement today, the UK and Sweden-based company said the decision was "purely commercial," citing a decline in sales and the availability of other vaccines on the market that target new Covid variants.

The company had voluntarily withdrawn its marketing authorization in the European Union in March.

Today's statement noted that more than 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year the vaccine was in use, and over 3 billion doses were supplied globally.

AstraZeneca stated, "Our efforts have been recognized around the world and are seen as a critical component in ending the global pandemic. We will now close this chapter and set a clear path forward."

AstraZeneca had launched its Covid-19 vaccine quite rapidly during the coronavirus pandemic that broke out in the first half of 2020.

Developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, the vaccine was initially offered at cost, but AstraZeneca decided to sell it for profit in late 2021.

Over time, the world moved away from the Vaxzevria vaccine and turned to other options, such as the mRNA vaccine produced by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Germany-based BioNTech.

The rare blood clotting issue associated with the AstraZeneca vaccine was also a factor in its decline.

Furthermore, as Covid restrictions were completely lifted worldwide, the company's sales continued to fall.

AstraZeneca stated that it has begun the process of withdrawing the vaccine from the market in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

ADMITTED TO RARE SIDE EFFECT

Although the Covid vaccine produced by AstraZeneca is generally considered safe and effective, it was discovered that it carries a risk of a rare but serious side effect known as Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).

The vaccine was administered to people aged 18 and over, usually in the upper arm, in two injections about three months apart. It was also used as a booster shot by some countries.

Vaxzevria consists of another virus from the adenovirus family, modified to contain the gene for making a protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19, and did not contain the virus itself.

Jamie Scott, a father of two who suffered brain damage due to a blood clot after receiving the vaccine in April 2021 and is unable to work, had initiated the first legal process against the company.

Facing multiple claims in a class-action lawsuit regarding the vaccine, AstraZeneca admitted for the first time in court documents in recent months that its Covid vaccine could cause this side effect.

Some plaintiffs claim they lost loved ones, while others allege that the vaccine led to serious health problems.

AstraZeneca disputes the claims, but in a legal document submitted to the British High Court in February, it confirmed that the Covid vaccine "can, in very rare cases, cause TTS."

WHAT IS TTS?

Lawyers in the case say that TTS stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome and is also referred to as VITT (Vaccine-Induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia) when it occurs following vaccination.

TTS/VITT is a syndrome where thrombosis (blood clotting) and thrombocytopenia (low platelet count) rarely occur simultaneously.

Lawyers state that this condition can lead to life-threatening outcomes such as stroke, brain damage, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, and loss of limbs.

Thrombosis can occur in many different forms in unvaccinated individuals as well. The rare TTS/VITT syndrome, however, applies only to thrombosis that occurs after vaccination.