P. Lazcano / C. Yáñez
AstraZeneca, the laboratory that is developing the drug in conjunction with the British university, halted its trials worldwide because a participant experienced "a serious adverse reaction".
Since its development began in the first quarter , it has been considered by many to be the most effective vaccine being manufactured worldwide . The vaccine being developed by Oxford University in conjunction with the AstraZeneca laboratory , and which is already in phase 3 trials in several locations around the world , had to halt its trials following a suspected serious adverse reaction in a volunteer in the United Kingdom.
An AstraZeneca spokesperson said in a statement that the company's "standard review process triggered a pause in vaccination to allow for a review of safety data ."
It was unclear whether the suspension of the trials was due to any regulatory intervention, although it is estimated that AstraZeneca did so voluntarily and not ordered by any regulatory agency.
The characteristics of the adverse reaction and when it occurred are still unknown, although the participant is expected to recover, according to a person familiar with the matter, as reported by the Stat website .
The spokesperson described the pause as “a routine action that must be taken whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring that we maintain the integrity of the trials.”
For now, the trials have only been suspended in Great Britain and the US, and not in other countries such as South Africa or Brazil, where tests are also being carried out, but they are already being evaluated to stop them as well.