AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, citing surplus of newer vaccines

Pharmaceutical company says newer shots led to decline in demand for AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied

AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a surplus of available updated vaccines" that target new variants of the virus.

The announcement follows the pharmaceutical company in March voluntarily withdrawing its European Union marketing authorisation, which is the approval to market a medicine in member states.