AstraZeneca withdraws Covid vaccine globally: What happens in India?
AstraZeneca withdraws Covid vaccine globally: What happens in India?
Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has announced the global withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine, Vaxzevria, citing a surplus of newer vaccine options as the primary reason.
The company has voluntarily withdrawn the “marketing authorization” for the vaccine within the European Union, and similar applications are expected to be made in other countries where the vaccine was approved.
The decision comes amidst ongoing legal battles faced by AstraZeneca over allegations that its vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, led to fatalities and severe injuries, including Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS).
However, the company has maintained that the withdrawal is not linked to the court case or its admission of TTS side effects, but rather due to commercial reasons and a decline in demand.
“As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since been developed, there is a surplus of available updated vaccines,” AstraZeneca said in a statement, adding that this had led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.
WHAT HAPPENS IN INDIA?
The vaccine, known as Covishield in India and other low- and middle-income countries, was developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University in response to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
It played a crucial role in the global vaccination effort, with independent estimates suggesting that over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of its use alone.
While AstraZeneca has voluntarily withdrawn the marketing authorization for Vaxzevria in the European Union, similar applications are expected to be made in other countries, including India, where the vaccine was manufactured and distributed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) under a license.
However, the decision to withdraw the vaccine should not be seen as alarming.
Sources within the Health Ministry told India Today that the Indian government has not purchased any Covid-19 vaccines in the last two years, and there is no indication of purchasing any more vaccines in the near future.
Additionally, SII has a stock of 250 million doses of Covishield at its Pune facility, which could be used for any future eventuality.
Sources at the SII had in 2022 indicated plans to halve the production of Covishield as it had a 500 million doses inventory at its facility. Half of these were finished doses, while the remaining were bulk doses that were not converted to formulation.
SII is yet to make any comment on the new developments.Â
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