AstraZeneca halts COVID-19 vaccine trials for safety



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“This is a routine action that happens whenever there is a potentially unexplained disease in one of the trials while it is being investigated, ensuring that the integrity of the studies is maintained,” the spokesperson told CNBC and the specialized media Stat.

The volunteer who fell ill resides in the United Kingdom, according to Stat, who said he did not know the nature of the adverse reaction suffered by the individual, although he is expected to recover. This is the vaccine that AstraZeneca, based in Cambridge (United Kingdom), had developed together with the University of Oxford and whose efficacy was being tested in the USA, Brazil and South Africa after the trial had given positive results in its initial phases, when it was tested with a thousand people in the UK.

In addition, the Governments of Argentina and Mexico, as well as the Mexican Slim Foundation, reached an agreement with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in August to manufacture the vaccine in their countries and then distribute it to all the countries of Latin America, with the exception of Brazil.

As reported in August by the president of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, the objective was to produce between 150 and 250 million doses that would be available at affordable prices, with an individual cost of between 3 and 4 dollars.

At the moment, the effects that this incident could have on AstraZeneca’s plans to develop the vaccine in Mexico and Argentina are unknown.

The spokesman for the pharmaceutical company, quoted by local media, assured that “it is working to accelerate the review of this unique incident with the aim of minimizing any potential impact on the trial plans.”

AstraZeneca had started phase 3 of its US trial in late August, according to clinicaltrials.gov, a US government registry; while in the UK, Brazil and South Africa, the vaccine study was between phases 2 and 3, according to Stat. AstraZeneca was scheduled to have its vaccine available by the first half of 2021 and was considered one of the most advanced in the world by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Along with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, AstraZeneca is one of three companies that have phase 3 studies in the US This is the first time that one of those trials to achieve the COVID-19 vaccine has to be put in place. pause for security reasons.



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