Johnson & Johnson Pauses COVID-19 Vaccine Trial For This Reason

New Delhi: Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate’s late-stage study was paused as the company probes into a participant’s “unexplained illness”.

In a statement on Monday, the company said that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies,” but that its physicians and a safety monitoring panel would try to determine what might have caused the illness.

The halt in the trial is at least the second such pause to occur among several vaccine candidates that have reached large-scale final tests in the United States.

The company refused to divulge any more details about the illness, citing the participant’s privacy.