EU withdraws Authorisation of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine for Human Use

The European Commission, an executive branch of the European Union (EU), has withdrawn its authorisation granted to AstraZeneca to market Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) for human use, effective May 7th, 2024.

To recall, on August 27, 2021, following the “pandemic” crisis of Coronavirus in 2019, the EU signedthe first contract with AstraZeneca, a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, to market its produced Vaccines against COVID-19.

The agreement was signed solely for the EU to implement the ‘European Vaccines Strategy,’ a strategy to accelerate the development, manufacturing, and deployment of vaccines against COVID-19.

Along the line, there were growing concerns about the effectiveness and side effects of the vaccines, considering it usually takes about ten years to create one.

Yet the pharmaceutical industry delivered in a “short” time, but with the EU engagement of other pharmaceutical companies, including Moderna, Sanofi-GSK, Johnson & Johnson, and CureVac.

The Commission is working non-stop to provide EU citizens with a safe and effective vaccine against COVID-19 as quickly as possible. The entry into force of the contract with AstraZeneca is an important step forward in this respect. I look forward to enriching our portfolio of potential vaccines thanks to agreements with other pharmaceutical companies and engaging with international partners for universal and equitable access to vaccination, says Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

The European Medicines Agency, a “decentralised” agency of the EU responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines, recommended a ‘conditional marketing authorisation‘ of the vaccines for human use.

But with a reason not published on its website, the EU, on 27th March 2024, discontinued its authorisation for AstraZeneca’s Vaccine in the market for human use.

The report reads in part: “At the holder’s request, the marketing authorisation granted by Decision C(2021) 698(final)of 29 January 2021 for the medicinal product “Vaxzevria – COVID-19 Vaccine (ChAdOx1-S[recombinant])” is withdrawn.”

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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