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The pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca stopped the clinical study of its corona vaccine as a precautionary measure after one of the participants developed health problems.
The British company announced on Wednesday night that it was a routine measure for these cases. “Diseases occur randomly in a large series of experiments, but they must be investigated by an independent party to verify this thoroughly.”
AstraZeneca will expedite the investigation so that the vaccine approval process is delayed as little as possible, he said. The ultimate goal of the review is to determine if the health problems were caused by the vaccine. During the arrest, no more study participants should be vaccinated and people who have been vaccinated should continue to be observed.
► Health problems that are not mentioned in more detail are an isolated case, emphasized the company. The vaccine is in the third and final phase of studies with tens of thousands of participants in the United States, among others.
AstraZeneca did not provide any information on the disease. The New York Times reported, citing an informed person, that the health problem was transverse myelitis, an inflammation that affects the spinal cord and can be caused by viral infections. The active ingredient AZD1222, manufactured by AstraZeneca and developed by the University of Oxford, is based on the weakened version of a chimpanzee cold virus and is supposed to activate the immune system so that it can make Sars-CoV-2 harmless in case of an infection.
AstraZeneca and eight other pharmaceutical and biotech companies had only given guarantees Tuesday that they would not compromise safety by developing a corona vaccine. This unusual move came in light of concerns that there could be political pressure, especially in the US, to get urgent approval of the first vaccines before the November 3 presidential election. The president of the United States, Donald Trump, promises almost daily that there will be a vaccine by the end of the year or possibly by the time of the elections.
In July, the company announced that an early to mid-stage study had shown the vaccine to be “well tolerated and elicited strong immune responses” against the virus.
In August, BILD learned from government circles that Health Minister Jens Spahn had already secured 54 million doses of the British vaccine for Germany. With a double vaccination, this means enough vaccine for 27 million Germans. Plus, there is an option for 18 million more cans.
