Clinical trials on one of the most advanced experimental COVID-19 vaccines, which is being developed by 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 with the fallout of the pandemic and the global death toll nearing 900,000, a worldwide race for a vaccine is underway, with nine companies already in late-stage phase 3 trials.
Worldwide COVID-19 infections to date now stand at more than 27.5 million and more than 897,000 people have died from the disease.
Russia has already approved a vaccine and research published in The Lancet medical journal last week said that patients involved in early tests developed antibodies with “no serious adverse events,” although scientists cautioned that the trials were too small.
An AstraZeneca spokesman said in a statement that “we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee.”
“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” the spokesman said.
The company said that in large-scale trials, illnesses would sometimes happen by chance, but must be reviewed independently.
AstraZeneca did not offer further details, but University of California, Riverside professor of biomedical sciences David Lo said that the pause might not necessarily be a setback.
“Probably right now it’s just being cautious — it’s a pause, it’s not the same thing as saying: ‘We can’t move forward,’” Lo said. “In some ways I’m quite relieved, it means they’re really paying attention.”
The volunteer might have experienced an adverse reaction already seen in earlier patients, such as fever and soreness, but in a more severe form, Lo added.
British Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock said that it was not the first pause in the trials of the vaccine.
“It’s a standard process in clinical trials. There was a pause earlier in the summer and that was resolved without a problem,” Hancock told Sky News.
China put its locally produced vaccines on display for the first time at a Beijing trade fair this week, hoping that they would be approved for use by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, other European nations were battling with high-profile sporting and political fallout from the pandemic.
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme has tested positive for COVID-19, prompting French Prime Minister Jean Castex to take a test, officials said, after the pair shared the same vehicle to follow a stage of the cycling event.
France’s soccer team was on Tuesday forced to take to the pitch against Croatia without star striker Kylian Mbappe after he tested positive.
The French Open tennis tournament suffered a blow after world No. 1 and defending champion Ashleigh Barty announced that she would not take part.
In the world of politics, former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi was still in hospital suffering from COVID-19, but his doctor was optimistic.
“All monitored parameters ... are reassuring,” said Alberto Zangrillo, adding that Berlusconi’s medical condition was in “constant favorable evolution.”
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