AstraZeneca withdraws COVID-19 vaccine, citing low demand

The pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has reportedly withdrawn its COVID-19 vaccine Vaxzevria, also known as Covishield, worldwide, citing commercial reasons for the decision.

"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," various media outlets quoted the company was quoted as saying.

A document hosted by the EU's European Medicines Agency website confirmed that Vaxzevria was no longer authorized in the region.

In an email to DW, virologist Wolfgang Preiser said "the demand for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is very low and unlikely to pick up significantly in the foreseeable future, so I understand the reasoning."