Coronavirus vaccine update | Oxford University's trials to resume days after being halted: Report

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Oxford University and AstraZeneca on September 12 announced that trials of their COVID-19 vaccine have resumed in the United Kingdom (UK) days after they were halted following a UK participant's adverse reaction to it.

"Clinical trials for the AstraZeneca Oxford coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222, have resumed in the UK following confirmation by the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that it was safe to do so," a statement by AstraZeneca said.

"On 6 September, the standard review process triggered a voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials to allow review of safety data by independent committees, and international regulators. The UK committee has concluded its investigations and recommended to the MHRA that trials in the UK are safe to resume," the statement added.

"Globally, some 18,000 individuals have received study vaccines as part of the trial. In large trials such as this, it is expected that some participants will become unwell and every case must be carefully evaluated to ensure careful assessment of safety," the university had said in a statement earlier, according to CNN.

AstraZeneca, a front-runner in the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, said in a statement on September 8 that the company’s “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.”

AstraZeneca didn’t reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it a potentially unexplained illness.

Earlier, Serum Institute of India (SII), which has partnered with AstraZeneca for manufacturing the Oxford vaccine candidate, had announced that it is pausing clinical trials of the vaccine, and said that it is “reviewing the situation” and will keep the trials paused until AstraZeneca resumes them.

The DCGI had earlier issued a showcause notice to Serum Institute on September 9 for not informing it about pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca suspending clinical trials.

On its part, the SII has now said that it would be resuming the trials in India after the DCGI permits it.

The AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is seen as one of the most promising of the vaccines against the novel coronavirus infection that are currently under development.

You can follow all the updates on COVID-19 vaccine and its candidates here.