AstraZeneca has commenced a global withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, citing a “surplus” of updated jabs for new variants, months after acknowledging its rare risk of serious side effects.

The pharmaceutical giant’s jab, Vaxzevria, is no longer authorized in the European Union as of May 7, after AstraZeneca requested the withdrawal of its “marketing authorization” on March 5.

The removal of its authorization comes just weeks after the company admitted in a UK court document that its shot “can, in very rare cases, cause” blood clots and low platelets, a rare but serious condition known as thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TSS). The company had originally denied a causal link.

However, AstraZeneca did not cite the admission as contributing to its decision. Instead, it stated that there was now an “oversupply of updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.

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