Clinical trials of one of the most advanced Covid-19 experimental vaccines developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University were "paused" Tuesday after an unexplained illness developed by a volunteer.
With the Covid-19 pandemic impact, billions of people around the world who are still suffering from the pandemic fallout with more than 27 million worldwide infections to date and the global death toll close to 900,000, a worldwide race for finding a vaccine is underway, with nine companies already undergoing late-stage Phase 3 trials.
Russia has already approved a vaccine, and research published last week in The Lancet Medical Journal said patients engaged in early testing developed "no serious adverse events" antibodies. Still, scientists warned the trials were too small.
A spokeswoman for the AstraZeneca vaccine said Tuesday in a statement that "we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow an independent committee to review the safety data.
"This is a routine action that must occur whenever a potentially unexplained disease occurs in one of the trials, while it is being investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials."
The company said illnesses will sometimes happen by chance in large trials but need to be independently reviewed.
AstraZeneca did not offer any further details, but Stat News, a medical news website that first reported the disease of the volunteer, cited a source saying it involved a "serious adverse reaction" to the vaccine.
"While this is not great news, remember that the full investigation of adverse reactions is a part of large-scale studies and essential to ensuring confidence in any vaccine. However, it will mean that outcomes will be delayed, "wrote Harvard epidemiology expert Bill Hanage on Twitter.
The ill vaccine volunteer was likely to participate in a Phase 2/3 trial, based in the United Kingdom, according to Stat News.
Meanwhile, China is showcasing its homegrown vaccines for the first time at this week's Beijing trade fair, and the authorities are hoping the jabs will be approved for use by the end of the year.
Source: Thai PBS
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