Just In: Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine trial paused after participant falls ill

 

Final clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, have been suspended after a participant reacted adversely.

Making the announcement Wednesday, AstraZeneca described it as a “routine” pause in the case of “an unexplained illness”.

This comes amid high hopes that the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine would hit the market, following successful phase 1 and 2 testing.

Its move to Phase 3 testing in recent weeks has involved some 30,000 participants in the US as well as in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. Phase 3 trials in vaccines often involve thousands of participants and can last several years, the BBC writes.

A volunteer in the UK trial has reportedly been diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord and can be caused by viral infections.

However, the cause of the illness has not been confirmed and an independent investigation will now work out if it was related to the vaccine.

Decision on the continuation of the trials could be days away.

Russia in July rolled out its vaccine against the virus and samples have been sent to select countries around the world, including Nigeria.