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On Saturday afternoon, CNN reports that pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, which is developing a candidate vaccine in collaboration with the University of Oxford, will resume testing of the candidate vaccine after it was suspended earlier this week.
– I’m glad the trial has resumed, says Secretary of State Anne Grethe Erlandsen to Dagbladet and explains:
– AstraZeneca’s production plans suggest that the first deliveries to Europe will arrive in late 2020. It is unclear how the fact that the study has been suspended will affect the company’s approval deadlines. We hope that the first vaccine will be approved in Norway around Christmas.
However, the secretary of state emphasizes that it is too early to say with certainty when the vaccine will be ready for the population of Norway. Health Minister Høie has previously stated that he hopes to start vaccination during the winter of 2021.
May delay the vaccination schedule
Disease discovered in the subject
As part of the trial, 18,000 people around the world have received the vaccine. Clinical trials of the vaccine, which is in phase three of the trial, were temporarily suspended after discovering a potentially unexplained illness in one of the subjects. In recent days, the incident has been investigated by independent observers, which is considered a routine procedure.
AstraZeneca press director Christina Hägerstrand Malmberg emphasized to Dagbladet that she was not sure the symptoms could be related to the vaccine test.
– Diseases can appear randomly in connection with large studies, and to control this, such incidents are investigated independently. We are working to expedite the investigation of this unique incident to minimize the potential impact on the study timeline, Malmberg told Dagbladet.
Norwegian big favorite
The candidate vaccine is considered Norway’s favorite and the EU has already ordered 400 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. Norway receives help from Sweden to secure vaccine doses through the EU procurement agreement.
– This is a reminder to all of us that nothing is certain until we have a vaccine finally approved. And that is why Norway, along with Europe, is currently investing in nine different vaccines to reduce the risk of candidates not succeeding, Health Minister Bent Høie told Dagbladet shortly after the candidate was suspended.
Both Høie and Erlandsen remain optimistic about the British vaccine candidate.
– The fact that the study was suspended so that the reported incident could be further investigated shows that the manufacturer and the pharmaceutical authorities take safety seriously, says Erlandsen.
