Final clinical trials for a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca, a UK-Swedish drug firm, and Oxford University, have been halted after a subject in the UK became sick.
In April, Oxford partnered the biopharmaceutical giant for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, projecting it could begin supply in September if clinical trials were successful.
According to the BBC, AstraZeneca, on Tuesday, said it has now paused the late-stage trials of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine after a study participant developed an unexplained illness.
After successful phase one and two trials, the developers, on September 3, initiated the third trial, which is said to have involved about 30,000 participants in the US, the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
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AstraZeneca described the pause as a “routine”, and it said the development is as a result of the trial being closely watched around the globe.
“We have no idea whether this is a big deal or not Science is hard. This is why we have to let the trials play out,” Ashish Jha, an Indian-American physician and academic, wrote on Twitter while commenting on the pause.
“I remain optimistic we will have a vaccine found to be safe and effective in upcoming months. But optimism isn’t evidence. Let’s let science drive this process.”
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According to Worldometres, COVID-19 has claimed the lives of over 900,000 people globally.
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