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LONDON – Clinical trials of one of the most advanced experimental COVID-19 vaccines, which is being developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, were “paused” on Tuesday after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
With billions of people around the world still suffering from the consequences of the pandemic and the global death toll approaching 900,000, a global race for a vaccine is underway, with nine companies already in the loop. final phase of phase 3 trials.
To date, infections worldwide number more than 27 million, and more than 890,000 people have died from the disease.
Russia has already approved a vaccine, and research published in the medical journal The Lancet last week said that patients involved in the first tests developed antibodies without “serious adverse events.”
But the scientists cautioned that the trials were too small.
A spokesperson for the AstraZeneca vaccine said in a statement Tuesday that “we voluntarily stopped vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee.
“‘This is a routine action that has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is being investigated, ensuring that we maintain the integrity of the trials.”
The company said that in large trials, illnesses sometimes occur by chance, but they need to be reviewed independently. AstraZeneca did not offer further details, but the medical news site Stat News, which first reported on the volunteer’s illness, quoted a source as saying it had involved a “serious adverse reaction” to the vaccine.
“While this is obviously not great news, remember that fully investigating adverse reactions is part of large-scale trials and is essential to ensure confidence in any vaccine. However, it will mean that results will be delayed, ”Harvard epidemiology expert Bill Hanage wrote on Twitter.
According to Stat News, the sick vaccine volunteer was likely participating in a UK-based phase 2/3 trial.
Meanwhile, China exhibited its homegrown vaccines for the first time at a Beijing trade fair this week, and authorities expect the jabs to be approved for use by the end of the year.
The vaccines are among the few that have entered Phase 3 trials.
Vaccine for the Philippines
In the Philippines, the executive director of the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD), Dr. Jaime Montoya, told House members on Wednesday that conducting clinical trials for a potential COVID19 vaccine in the Philippines will ensure access to the vaccine once it is proven. effective.
“It is unethical to conduct a clinical trial in a country if that vaccine will not be available there once its efficacy is proven,” Montoya said during the Appropriation Committee’s scrutiny of the proposed $ 23.8 billion budget from the Department of Science. and Technology (DOST) under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) 2021.
“So, there is a guarantee, once the vaccine is shown to be effective, it must be available in the country,” he said.
“The question here is, will we get the vaccine right away? Because we know that all countries are rushing to get their supply of the vaccine during this time of COVID-19, ”Montoya noted.
The answer to this question, Montoya said, would largely depend on the government’s negotiation with the foreign vaccine developer, “on how we will jump ahead in the queue.”
“But we will definitely get access to that vaccine,” he added.
The Philippines’ potential role as a test country for potential COVID19 vaccines is seen by some as a bargaining chip in terms of securing supply for the local population, estimated at 110 million.
This is especially useful for the country, which, unlike richer nations, cannot make advance payments or pre-orders from vaccine developers. (With report by Ellson A. Quismorio)
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