AstraZeneca says it's withdrawing COVID vaccine amid low demand

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AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria is no longer being manufactured or supplied due to declining demand, the company said Wednesday.

It is also withdrawing the vaccine’s authorization to be marketed or sold in countries that are part of the European Union, AstraZeneca said.

“As multiple variant COVID-19 vaccines have since been developed there is a surplus of available updated vaccines. This has led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied,” the company told Global News in an email Wednesday.

“AstraZeneca has therefore taken the decision to initiate withdrawal of the Marketing Authorizations for Vaxzevria within Europe.”

Alongside Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria was one of three primary vaccines administered worldwide against COVID-19 beginning in 2021.

However, safety concerns arose in March 2021 when Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) recommended the vaccine not be administered to people under age 55 following reports of blood clots.

The committee said majority of the cases of the adverse effect– known as vaccine-induced prothrombotic immune thrombocytopenia (VIPIT) — were identified in women under the age of 55.

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Ontario and Alberta both paused the use of Vaxzevria a few months later out of caution.

Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health at the time, said the decision was also made, in part, because of an “increased and reliable” supply of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines and a continued downward trend in COVID-19 cases.

Canada’s authorization for use of Vaxzevria was officially cancelled in December of 2023.

AstraZeneca said in its email to Global News that its working with regulators and partners to “align on a clear path forward” to conclude its chapter on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are incredibly proud of the role Vaxzevria played in ending the global pandemic,” the company said.

–with files from Global News’ Nick Westoll, Nicole Gibillini, Amanda Connolly and Hannah Jackson