Rio De Janeiro: An AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial volunteer has died in Brazil but the trial is not being stopped, Hindustan Times (HT) reported.
The trials of the COVID vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca began in the first week of September both in India and Brazil.
The pharma company is developing a COVID-19 vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University.
Here’s what is known about the case
Details of vaccine trial participants are confidential. Illness, if any, arising during the process is also not disclosed. Brazil’s newspapers reported that the person was a 28-year-old doctor who worked with COVID-19 patients, HT reported.
According to reports, the person was enrolled as a participant for the ongoing trial. But no candidate vaccine shot was administered yet. That is why the trial has not been stopped.
“All significant medical events are carefully assessed by trial investigators, an independent safety monitoring committee and the regulatory authorities. These assessments have not led to any concerns about the continuation of the ongoing study,” HT reported AstraZeneca as saying.
Johnson and Johnson which is also producing millions of vaccine shots in the United States has halted their trial as one participant reported unexpected illness.
So far, three vaccine trials have been briefly paused in between apart from AstraZeneca (resumed elsewhere apart from the US) and Johnson & Johnson. Eli Lilly’s trial of the antibody treatment was also paused after an adverse report. Experts, however, feel pausing trials shows the vaccine makers are exercising extreme caution, the report added.
It may be recalled that in the first week of September, AstraZeneca had halted the trial process as two participants who took part in a trial developed an adverse impact. Following this, the trial in other countries was stopped.
The trials began after the UK government gave the vaccine a go-ahead. Trials began in India, Brazil as well. The US authorities, however, have not yet resumed trials.
