COVID-19 Vaccine: Trial Suspended Over Participant’s Mysterious Illness
By Emmanuel Awosika
Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has suspended trials for a COVID-19 vaccine it had developed after one of the participants was diagnosed with a mysterious illness.
As the COVID-19 virus spreads across the world, leaving thousands dead in its wake, pharmaceutical companies are racing to create a mass-market vaccine, with nine already conducting Phase III trials.
The COVID-19 pandemic has infected over 27 million people and killed close to 900,000 people.
Russia announced a vaccine earlier this month, which has been received with mixed reactions. And so far, participants in early trials have not developed any severe ailment.
A representative for AstraZeneca said the company had suspended trials, pending the review of safety data by “an independent committee.”
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” the spokesperson added.
AstraZeneca’s leadership have allayed fears that the latest delay will affect the trials, saying it’s common for large trials to have one or two sicknesses, which must be reviewed by an independent body.
The United Kingdom’s Minister for Health Matt Hancock also said the suspension of trials wasn’t out of the ordinary.
He revealed that AstraZeneca had eaelier stopped trials in the summer for an issue, which it handled later.
AstraZeneca is working with the University of Oxford in UK to create the COVID-19 vaccine.
