Uk Covid Vaccine's Trials Halted After Unexplained Illness

Kevin Namunwa | Sep 9, 2020

Clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University have been paused.

The vaccine, which is considered to be one of the world’s advanced vaccines, had its clinical trials halted over an unexplained illness.

The world is currently on a race to find a vaccine to the virus that has shaken up the globe. Billions of people around the world are still suffering from the virus that has since cost the lives of over 900,000 people.

Nine companies are already in the late-stage Phase 3 trials.

Worldwide infections to date now stand at more than 27 million, and more than 890,000 people have died from the disease.

Russia has already approved a vaccine, and research published in The Lancet medical journal last week said patients involved in early tests developed antibodies with “no serious adverse events.” But scientists have since cautioned the trials were too small.

A spokesperson for the AstraZeneca vaccine said in a statement Tuesday that “we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow 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 company said that in large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance but must be reviewed independently.

AstraZeneca didn’t offer further details, but medical news site Stat News, which first reported the volunteer’s illness, quoted a source saying it had involved a “serious adverse reaction” to the vaccine.

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