AstraZeneca is set to undergo a name change in Australia to make it easier for people who have received the vaccine to travel overseas.
Try saying “Vaxzevria” five times fast.
Here I was thinking AstraZeneca was being changed to Vaxzevria in an attempt to obliterate media frenzy over the vaccine’s complications in some people.
I would like to be the first to say that I predict ‘Vaxzevria’ will be the hottest baby name in decades to come, à la Kath & Kim.
While the original vaccine name of the UK-Swedish AstraZeneca is still used here in Australia, it is currently registering the brand name ‘Vaxzevria’ is already being used in Europe.
A pharmaceuticals manufacturer said in a statement on its website:
“This minor difference, which will soon disappear, may have created misperceptions that the vaccine is not the same,” it read.
“For vaccines produced in our global supply chain that are using the original name COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca, we are currently in the process of registering the trade name Vaxzevria, which is used in many other markets, including the EU.
“This will facilitate travel for people who have received AstraZeneca’s vaccine from anywhere in the world.”
Could they not have rebranded to something easier to spell and pronounce than Vaxzevria #COVID19nsw https://t.co/oJtNthLnGc
— Jake Sims (@jake_s_258) August 19, 2021
According to the company, the name change is to alleviate confusion for when international travel from Australia is permitted as the confusion may lead to invalidation for European travel.
However, the company said the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is the still same product wherever it’s made, including at CSL in Australia.
“All manufacturing around the world is conducted using the same stringent manufacturing process, and each batch passes over 60 quality tests as part of our global robust quality assurance process,” the company said.
“The vaccine has also received emergency authorisation from the World Health Organisation.
“As such the vaccine made by CSL is a valid vaccination for travel to Europe.”
The ‘Vaxzevria’ name has already been officially replaced ‘AstraZeneca’ in Europe with the European Medicines Agency approval.
The company also stated that more than 750 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine have been distributed to 170 countries in less than a year.
The Moderna vaccine from the U.S has also been labelled ‘SpikeVax’ on its vials, with Pfizer having ‘Comirnaty’ on its vials, registered at the end of October 2020.
So, in a nutshell, all these vaccines are basically the same and still serve their function, just with snazzy new names.
Pfizer is a marketing machine IMO so it’s nice to hear that the AZ shots may, in fact, be more durable in the long run @smillsSK
Hard to know what is right in this vaccine debate
AstraZeneca CEO: ‘Not clear’ if Covid-19 vaccine boosters necessary https://t.co/Gj0YIusTjc
— Trent Fraser (@trentfraseryqr) August 18, 2021
