The Serum Institute of India (SII) on Wednesday said Covid-19 vaccines produced by Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca, including Vaxzervria and Covishield were instrumental in saving millions of lives worldwide.
This comes a day after the London-listed initiated the withdrawal of its covid vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” since the pandemic. The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria‘s marketing authorisations within Europe.
The SII, which produced AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine under the brand name Covishield, had stopped manufacturing and supply of the doses in December 2021, an SII spokesperson said. The SII spokesperson stressed transparency regarding vaccine side effects and underscored the vital role of vaccines in dealing with the global pandemic.
“With India achieving high vaccination rates in 2021 and 2022, coupled with the emergence of new mutant variant strains, the demand for previous vaccines diminished significantly. Consequently, since December 2021, we have stopped the manufacturing and supply of additional doses of Covishield,” the SII spokesperson said. “We fully understand the ongoing concerns and It’s crucial to emphasize our commitment to transparency and safety. From the outset, we have disclosed all rare to very rare side effects, including Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, in the packaging insert in 2021,” it added.
Despite the challenges faced during the global pandemic, the Pune-based company said the safety of the vaccine remains paramount. “Regardless of whether it’s AstraZeneca’s Vaxzervria or our own Covishield, both vaccines have been instrumental in saving millions of lives worldwide. We commend the collaborative efforts of governments and ministries in facilitating a unified global response to the pandemic,” it added.
According to media reports, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker has previously admitted in court documents that the vaccine causes side effects such as blood clots and low blood platelet counts. The firm’s application to withdraw the vaccine was made on March 5 and came into effect on May 7, according to the Telegraph, which first reported the development.
(With agency inputs)
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