Daily US Times: Trials of a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca will continue, following a review into the death of a volunteer in Brazil.
Health authority of Brazil has given no details about the death of the volunteer, citing confidentiality protocols.
A “careful assessment” had revealed no safety concerns, Oxford University has said
The BBC reports that the volunteer did not receive the vaccine.
Only around half the volunteers in the trial are given the actual Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University. The second group are being given an existing licensed vaccine for meningitis.
Neither the participants nor their families know which Covid-19 vaccine they are being given.
This enables scientists to compare the results for the two groups in order to measure whether the vaccine is effective in their bodies.
In a statement, AstraZeneca said that it could not comment on individual cases but it “can confirm that all required review processes have been followed”.
It said all significant medical events are carefully assessed by an independent safety monitoring committee, trial investigators and the regulatory authorities.
“These assessments have not led to any concerns about continuation of the ongoing study,” the statement said.
There are high hopes across the world that the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine could be one of the first to make it onto the market.
It had successful phase 1 and 2 testing, while phase 3 testing is being carried out on participants in countries including India, Brazil and the UK.
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