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Reuters
Final clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, were suspended after a participant had an adverse reaction in the UK.
AstraZeneca described it as a “routine” break in the case of “unexplained illness.”
The outcome of vaccine trials is being closely followed around the world.
The AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine is considered a strong competitor among the dozens that are being developed globally.
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There was high hope that the vaccine could be one of the first to hit the market, following the successful phase 1 and 2 trials.
Its move to Phase 3 testing in recent weeks has involved some 30,000 participants in the US, as well as the UK, Brazil and South Africa. Phase 3 vaccine trials often involve thousands of participants and can last several years.
What did the developers say?
All international trial sites have now been put on hiatus while an independent investigation reviews safety data before regulators decide whether the trial can be restarted, reports Fergus Walsh, the BBC’s medical editor.
“In large trials, diseases will happen by chance, but they need to be independently reviewed to verify this carefully,” said a spokesman for the University of Oxford.
This is the second time the trial of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine has been suspended, our correspondent notes. Such events are routine in major trials and occur each time a volunteer is admitted to the hospital when the cause of their illness is not immediately apparent.
Trials are believed to be able to resume in a matter of days.
Stat News, the health website that first released the story, said details of the UK participant’s adverse reaction were not immediately known, but quoted a source as saying they were expected to recover.
Where are we in the search for a vaccine?
US President Donald Trump has said he wants a vaccine available in the United States before the November 3 election, but his comments have raised fears that politics may take precedence over safety in the rush for a vaccine. .
On Tuesday, a group of nine Covid-19 vaccine developers tried to reassure the public by announcing a “historic commitment” to uphold scientific and ethical standards when searching for a vaccine.
AstraZeneca is among the nine companies that signed the pledge to apply for regulatory approval only after the vaccines have gone through three phases of clinical study.
Industry giants Johnson & Johnson, BioNTech, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Merk, Moderna, Sanofi and Novavax are the other signatories.
They pledged to “always make the safety and well-being of vaccinated people our highest priority.”
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The World Health Organization (WHO) says nearly 180 vaccine candidates are being tested worldwide, but none have completed clinical trials.
The organization has said it does not expect a vaccine to meet its efficacy and safety guidelines to be approved this year because of the time it takes to test them safely.
Thomas Cueni, CEO of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, has shared similar sentiments. The industry body represents the companies that signed the pledge.
Despite this, China and Russia have begun inoculating some key workers with domestically developed vaccines. All of them are still on the WHO list as in clinical trials.
Meanwhile, the US national regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has suggested that coronavirus vaccines may be approved before completing a third phase of clinical trials.
It also emerged last week that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had urged states to consider waiving certain requirements to be ready to distribute a possible vaccine by November 1, two days. before the presidential elections on November 3.
Although President Trump has hinted that a vaccine might be available before the election, his Democratic rival Joe Biden has expressed skepticism that Trump will listen to scientists and implement a transparent process.
