AstraZeneca says withdraws Covid vaccine 'for commercial reasons'

British drugmaker AstraZeneca said Wednesday that it has withdrawn its Covid vaccine Vaxzevria, one of the first produced in the pandemic, citing "commercial reasons" and a surplus of updated jabs.

"As multiple, variant Covid-19 vaccines have since 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," an AstraZeneca spokeperson said.

AFP/