Is AstraZeneca withdrawing its vaccine from the market because it is “dangerous”, as anti-vaxxers on social media claim?

On social networks, anti-vaccines claim that AstraZeneca has decided to withdraw its vaccine from the market because it is dangerous, even fatal. This is false, the British pharmaceutical group explains that it is for “commercial reasons”.

The British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca announced on Wednesday May 8 that it was withdrawing from sale its vaccine against Covid-19, Vaxzevria, one of the first put on the market during the pandemic. On social networks, anti-vaccine messages are multiplying. According to them, “After three years of proceedings, AstraZeneca is forced to admit that its products are deadlys” or that this vaccine has been withdrawn from the market “because dangerous“.

Except that it is false, AstraZeneca explained that it had withdrawn its vaccine from the market.for commercial reasons.”

A fall in demand

If the pharmaceutical group has decided to withdraw its vaccine from the market, it is because it has observed for several months a drop in demand for their product and stocks that are difficult to sell. AstraZeneca specifies that “multiple vaccines have been developed, so there is a surplus.” AstraZeneca has therefore taken the decision to undertake the withdrawal of the marketing authorization for Vaxzevria in Europe. indicates the group in a press release, Wednesday May 8. Its English competitor, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK also saw its sales decline.

If there are so many posts on social networks surfing on the withdrawal of the AstraZeneca vaccine, it is because it experienced several setbacks and controversies at the time of the Covid crisis. It never received marketing authorization in the United States. He experienced delivery problems in Europe. And, what especially stood out were these very rare cases of thrombosis, the formation of blood clots, detected in certain young people vaccinated with AstraZeneca in March 2021.

At the time, some countries had decided to suspend vaccination on their territory, such as Norway or Denmark, others, such as France or Germany, had finally decided to limit access to older people only. . These controversies have clearly undermined confidence in this vaccine and have fueled anti-vaxxer conspiracy theories ever since.

Legal procedures

Highly exposed by these controversies, the AstraZeneca group and its vaccine are the subject of more ongoing legal proceedings, including one in the United Kingdom (class action brought against it before the British High Court.)

The newspaper “The Telegraph” (article in English and paid) reveals that at least 50 British families accuse AstraZeneca and its vaccine of having caused serious harm, even deaths.