European Medicines Agency pulls authorization for AstraZeneca's COVID shot, at company's request

The pharma giant AstraZeneca has requested that the European authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine be pulled. In an update on the European Medicines Agency’s website Wednesday, the regulator said that the approval for AstraZeneca’s Vaxzevria had been withdrawn at the company's request. AstraZeneca’s vaccine was first approved by the EMA in January 2021. But within weeks, concerns grew about the vaccine’s safety, when dozens of countries suspended the vaccine’s use after rare blood clots were detected. Studies have since shown messenger RNA COVID vaccines to be more effective and AstraZeneca's shot is rarely used globally.