The University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca have resumed clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine, which were suspended this week due to the illness of one of the trial participants.
On Tuesday, the vaccine’s developers announced that the clinical trials had been paused due to a “potentially unexplained illness” identified in one of the volunteers.
The number of offers is expected to remain the same. But now Oxford University and AstraZeneca say that independent bodies responsible for the safety of the trial have reviewed this case and decided that the vaccination of volunteers can continue.
“During such large-scale trials, some participants may become ill – and each such case must be carefully assessed to ensure full compliance with safety measures,” the Oxford University release said. “The independent evaluation process has been completed – and in accordance with the recommendations of the independent safety committee and the UK regulatory authority… the trials will continue in the UK.”
The exact disease that the research participant contracted is not officially disclosed. However, according to the New York Times, the patient was diagnosed with transverse myelitis – a relatively rare inflammatory disease of the spinal cord, often caused by viral infections. Earlier, journalists, citing doctors, reported that the research participant was expected to recover.
According to AFP, on August 31, AstraZeneca began recruiting 30,000 volunteers in the United States to participate in clinical trials. Smaller groups of volunteers have also begun receiving the drug in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. Trials are also planned in Russia and Japan. University of Cambridge scientist Charlotte Summers told Agence France-Presse that Oxford scientists have shown a willingness to “make safety a priority in their research program.
“To overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, we need to develop vaccines and therapies that people will feel safe to use. It is therefore extremely important to maintain society’s confidence that we are guided only by scientific evidence and do not jump to conclusions before we have the information,” says the expert.
Vaccine development against coronaviruses is underway in many countries. The World Health Organization recently reported that nearly 180 vaccine variants are currently being tested. This week, the world’s nine largest pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, signed a joint commitment not to rush the vaccine to market, but to ensure that all necessary steps are taken to make it safe. Collectively, these companies have developed more than 70 Covid-19 vaccines.
We explain quickly, simply, and clearly what happened, why it matters, and what will happen next. Episodes The end of the story. Advertising Podcasts. The WHO believes that even if the vaccine is successfully developed, it will still need to undergo extensive testing and is unlikely to be approved this year. The vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca is one of the most promising, having successfully completed two out of three clinical trials.
Russia’s R-Pharm also announced its intention to produce the drug in July. AstraZeneca promises to produce around three billion doses of its vaccine worldwide – the most ambitious plan of any pharmaceutical company. Two other vaccines are also in the final stages of testing in the United States: one is manufactured by Moderna and the other is being developed by Pfizer in collaboration with Germany’s BioNTech. Some politicians, including US President Donald Trump, are promising that the vaccine will be ready in the coming months.
As reported by Agence France-Presse, AstraZeneca hopes the vaccine could be ready “by the end of this year or early next year”. However, the University of Oxford does not rule out the possibility that the drug will not be used until 2022. A vaccine called “Sputnik-V” is being developed in Russia. It is being developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology in cooperation with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
This vaccine was the first in the world to be approved for use, and in early September a study by Russian authors was published in the Lancet, claiming that it successfully produced antibodies against Covid-19.
Trial batches of the Russian vaccine have already been sent to the country’s regions. However, an international group of scientists questioned the reliability of the research and wrote an open letter to The Lancet. The publication called on the Russian developers to respond to the criticism. The authors of the vaccine promise to publish the results of the third stage of trials in October-November this year. However, the Minister of Health of Russia Mikhail Murashko announced on Saturday that the first trial batches of “Sputnik-V” have already been sent to the regions of the country.