The corona vaccine from the Swedish-British pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca, Vaxzevria, is no longer approved in the EU. The withdrawal of market approval, which was decided in March, came into force on Tuesday, according to a document from the EU Commission.
Astrazeneca itself requested this step “for commercial reasons,” the company confirmed at the request of the German Press Agency on Tuesday. The background is a lack of demand.
Since the end of the pandemic, several variants of Covid-19 vaccines have been developed, which is why there is now a surplus of updated preparations available. “This has led to a decrease in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer manufactured or supplied,” said an Astrazeneca statement. But they are “incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic.”
The EU Commission said in a statement that it was not unusual for companies to request the withdrawal of marketing authorization for medicines or vaccines for commercial reasons. It can be confirmed “that the decision is not based on doubts about the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine,” the statement continued.