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AstraZeneca said that in large trials, illnesses sometimes occur by chance, but they need to be reviewed independently.
LONDON – Clinical trials of one of the most advanced experimental COVID-19 vaccines, being developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, were “paused” on Tuesday after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
With billions of people around the world still suffering from the consequences of the pandemic and the global death toll approaching 900,000, a global race for a vaccine is underway, with nine companies already in the pipeline. end of phase 3 trials.
To date, infections worldwide number 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 medical journal _The Lancet _ last week said that patients involved in the first tests developed antibodies without “serious adverse events.” But the scientists cautioned that the trials were too small.
A spokesperson for the AstraZeneca vaccine said in a statement Tuesday that “we voluntarily stopped vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee.
“This is a routine action that has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is being investigated, ensuring that we maintain the integrity of the trials.”
The company said that in large trials, illnesses sometimes occur by chance, but they need to be reviewed independently.
AstraZeneca did not offer further details, but the medical news site Stat News, which first reported on the volunteer’s illness, quoted a source as saying it had involved a “serious adverse reaction” to the vaccine.
“While this is obviously not great news, remember that fully investigating adverse reactions is part of large-scale trials and is essential to ensure confidence in any vaccine. However, it will mean that results will be delayed,” he wrote in Harvard epidemiology expert Bill Hanage Twitter. .
According to Stat News, the sick vaccine volunteer was likely participating in a UK-based phase 2/3 trial.
Meanwhile, China exhibited its homegrown vaccines for the first time at a Beijing trade fair this week, and authorities expect the jabs to be approved for use by the end of the year.
The vaccines are among the few that have entered Phase 3 trials.
CHINA CELEBRATES, EUROPE SUFFERS
Across Europe, concerns are mounting about a resurgence of the virus, with France tightening restrictions, increasing cases in Britain and resuming schools in the region.
In China, however, the virus has all but been banished through closures and travel restrictions earlier in the year that have officials touting the nation as a coronavirus success story.
China’s leaders held a triumphal ceremony to celebrate the defeat of the coronavirus on Tuesday, and President Xi Jinping declared that China had passed “an extraordinary and historic test” during an awards ceremony for medical professionals.
The nation’s propaganda machine has been trying to take over the narrative surrounding the pandemic, recasting the episode as an example of the agility and organization of the communist leadership.
‘TRUE POTENTIAL’
The economic fallout of the virus continues to wreak havoc on economies around the world and governments are desperate to get back to normal.
India went ahead with the reopening despite surpassing Brazil on Monday as the second most infected nation in the world, with more than 4.2 million cases.
Subway trains resumed operations earlier this week and authorities said the main tourist attraction, the Taj Mahal, would reopen on September 21.
South Africa announced that its economy had contracted more than half in the second quarter, as the pandemic took its toll on Africa’s most industrialized state.
Latin America and the Caribbean exceeded 300,000 deaths from viruses. The number of cases in Argentina surpassed the half-million mark, while in Peru, which has the highest per capita coronavirus death rate in the world, COVID-19 deaths exceeded 30,000.
BERLUSCONI SIGNS ‘FAVORABLE’
European countries were grappling with the high-profile political and sporting consequences of the pandemic on Tuesday.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme tested positive for the disease, prompting French Prime Minister Jean Castex to take a test, authorities said, after the couple shared the same car to follow a stage of the cycling event.
France’s soccer team was forced to take the field against Croatia on Tuesday without star forward Kylian Mbappé after he tested positive.
The French Open tennis tournament took a hit after world number one and defending champion Ashleigh Barty announced that she would not participate.
And in the world of politics, one of Europe’s most prominent figures in recent times, former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was still in hospital from the virus.
His doctor, however, was optimistic.
“All the monitored parameters … are reassuring,” Alberto Zangrillo said, adding that Berlusconi’s medical condition was “constantly evolving favorably.”
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