Final clinical trials for a coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, have been put on hold after a participant had a suspected adverse reaction in the UK.
British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca described it as a "routine" pause in the case of "an unexplained illness".
“As part of the ongoing randomized, controlled global trials of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine, our standard review process was triggered and we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine is seen as a strong contender among dozens of candidates that are being developed globally. The vaccine moved into phase 3 testing involving some 30,000 participants in the US as well as in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. However, all international trials have now been halted while an independent investigation reviews the safety data before regulators decide whether the trial can restart, reported BBC.
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), close to 180 vaccines are being tested against COVID-19 all over the world but none has completed clinical trials yet.