AstraZeneca pulls request for Swiss approval of COVID shot

BERLIN (AP) — AstraZeneca says it is withdrawing its application for approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in Switzerland because the country’s medical regulator wanted to restrict its use to people over age 50. Switzerland has cleared the BioNTech-Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines, but the national medical regulator hadn’t yet granted AstraZeneca marketing authorization. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, whose medical regulator approved the company’s vaccine this year. Some European countries later recommended that the vaccine’s use primarily for older age groups after it was linked to extremely rare blood clots. AstraZeneca noted Thursday that the vaccine has been granted a conditional marketing or emergency use authorization in more than 80 countries.