AstraZeneca, a major provider of Covid-19 vaccines across the world mainly during the initial pandemic period, has initiated a process to withdraw its Vaxzevria COVID-19 vaccine worldwide, citing weak demand and the surplus availability of new vaccines.

Meanwhile, AstraZeneca reportedly had admitted recently in court documents that the vaccine could cause side-effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts.

The latest move follows a notice by the European Medicines Agency that the vaccine is no longer authorised for use. Vaxzevria, a vaccine for preventing coronavirus disease 2019 in people aged 18 years and older, had received a conditional marketing authorisation in Europe on January 29, 2021.

According to the Anglo-Swedish drug maker, multiple, variant COVID-19 vaccines have been developed since the pandemic and there is a surplus of available updated vaccines, which led to a decline in demand for Vaxzevria, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

AstraZeneca had developed the vaccine in collaboration with The University of Oxford after the coronavirus outbreak in 2020. The vaccine was manufactured and supplied in India and other low to middle income countries under the name Covishield by Serum Institute of India through a licence from the company and the university.

The company is facing lawsuits over claims that its Covid-19 vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious injury, including Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome or TTS.

AstraZeneca now said it will work with regulators and partners to align on a clear path forward.

In related developments, World Health Organization had in March launched a new network for coronaviruses, named CoViNet. It aims to facilitate and coordinate global expertise and capacities for early and accurate detection, monitoring and assessment of SARS-CoV-2, MERS-CoV and new strains of coronavirus.

In mid-April, there was a report that scientists at the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, and Caltech in the U.S. are developing a novel approach called “proactive vaccinology” to fight viruses which have not yet emerged, in a move to protect the humankind against the next coronavirus pandemic.