NEW DELHI: UK-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has withdrawn its Covid Vaccine following revelations that Covishield can cause serious side effects. The move is to withdraw the drug globally. The company has informed that it is completely stopping the production and distribution of the Covid vaccine. The vaccine stocked in the market will also be withdrawn. The company stated that there are plenty of other covid vaccines in the market and the decline in sales is behind the decision.

Covishield was developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The Pune Serum Institute had the license to manufacture and distribute AstraZeneca's vaccine in the country. 175 crore doses of Covishield vaccine were used in India.

The company has voluntarily withdrawn its marketing authorization in the European Union. The company stated that the vaccine is no longer produced and can no longer be used. AstraZeneca said it would carry out similar recalls in other countries where the vaccine is currently used. The company is facing a £100 million lawsuit in the UK after revelations the drug could cause side effects. However, the company said that this is not the reason for withdrawing the vaccine.

The pharmaceutical company stated in the UK High Court that the Covishield vaccine could cause strokes and heart attacks. It was also informed that there is a possibility of having a medical condition called TTS (Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome) in which the blood clots and the number of platelets in the blood decreases. This is the first time the company has admitted that Covishield has side effects.