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The University of Oxford has said that a trial of its coronavirus vaccine will continue in Brazil amid reports of the death of a volunteer.
The university is in advanced stages of testing a Covid-19 immunization that is being developed with AstraZeneca, with volunteers in countries such as Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The institution said it has investigated the case but found no “safety concerns” surrounding the vaccine.
Oxford said in a statement: “All major medical incidents, whether the participants are in the control group or the Covid-19 vaccine group, are independently reviewed.
“After careful evaluation of this case in Brazil, there have been no concerns about the safety of the clinical trial and the independent review, in addition to the Brazilian regulator, has recommended that the trial continue.”
Brazil’s health authority said it was informed of the death of a participant earlier this week.
AstraZeneca said it was unable to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality, but said all due process had been followed and there were no issues with continuing the trial.
A spokesperson said: “All major medical events are carefully evaluated by trial investigators, an independent safety monitoring committee, and regulatory authorities.
“These evaluations have not raised any concerns about the continuation of the ongoing study.”
According to local media reports, the volunteer had been given a placebo instead of the vaccine.
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