The University of Oxford, one of the leading Covid-19 vaccine developers in the world race, resumed its trial to test the drug it is developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on Saturday. The restart to demonstrate the drug’s effectiveness comes two days after he had to stop the trial after a UK volunteer reportedly fell ill.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock welcomed the reboot, saying in a tweet that it was “good news for everyone” that the trial is “working again.”
The trial pause raised concerns around the world, as several countries have pinned their hopes of defeating the pandemic by developing vaccines that may prove to be a cure for the outbreak that has infected 28,551,911 people and claimed 916,715 lives. now, according to John Hopkins University. .
Why does it matter?
The vaccine being developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca is widely perceived as one of the strongest contenders among the dozens of coronavirus vaccines in various stages of testing around the world. It is also one of nine candidates worldwide currently in late-stage phase 3 human trials.
Furthermore, experts believe that Oxford prioritized the safety protocol by pausing the trial in the event of reported side effects, showing responsible decision-making at such critical times.
Dr Charlotte Summers, professor of intensive care medicine at the University of Cambridge, said the pause was a sign that the Oxford team was prioritizing safety issues, but that it led to “a lot of useless speculation” .
“To deal with the global Covid-19 pandemic, we need to develop vaccines and therapies that people are comfortable using, therefore it is vital to maintain public confidence that we stick to the evidence and do not draw conclusions before make the information available, “Summers said. quoted by the Associated Press news agency.
Is a lull in vaccine development normal?
Pauses in drug trials are commonplace and indicate careful progression when evaluating potential side effects of a drug in progress. The global organization WHO and scientists have called for expectations to be kept to a minimum, stating that vaccine trials are rarely straightforward and can take a tediously long time to develop.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca study had previously stopped in July for several days after a participant developed neurological symptoms that turned out to be an undiagnosed case of multiple sclerosis that the researchers said was unrelated to the vaccine.
In the case of this trial, the university maintains that in large trials like this “some participants are expected to feel unwell and each case must be carefully evaluated to ensure a careful assessment of safety.”
How many people are included in the test for this Covid-19 vaccine?
Worldwide, some 18,000 people have received their vaccine so far in Great Britain, Brazil and South Africa. About 30,000 volunteers are being recruited in the United States.
When is the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine expected?
After the hiatus, AstraZeneca had said it was hopeful that the vaccine might still be available “by the end of this year, early next year,” the AFP news agency reported.
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