AstraZeneca is withdrawing its highly successful coronavirus vaccine, citing the availability of a plethora of new shots that has led to a decline in demand.
“As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have … 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,” it said in a statement shared with CNN Wednesday.
“AstraZeneca has therefore taken the decision to initiate withdrawal of the marketing authorizations for Vaxzevria within Europe,” it added.Any other false claims?CLAIM: The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna are no longer authorized in the U.S. because of safety concerns.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Federal officials instead merely sidelined only the original formulation of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, in favor of those companies’ updated shots. The tweaked versions target the dominant omicron variant as well as an early strain of the coronavirus from the initial vaccines. The decision was not about safety, officials and an expert say.
THE FACTS: The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday announced that anyone getting a COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer or Moderna moving forward will receive a “bivalent” shot. The bivalent vaccines rolled out last fall as a booster dose and consist of half the original recipe and half protection against the BA.4 and BA.5 versions of omicron.
But a flurry of social media posts have misrepresented the news to suggest that the vaccines are being pulled because of safety concerns.
https://apnews.com/article/fact-chec...t-447335268816