Coronavirus vaccine trial pause after reports of side effect underlines need for oversight, says expert
A pause in trials of a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Astrazeneca and Oxford University underlines the importance of such tests being carried out properly, an expert has said.
Well come Trust director and Sage member Professor Sir Jeremy Farrar said the public must have “absolute trust” that any vaccine is safe and effective.
His comments came after A st raZe ne ca said the latestage studies of the vaccine have been paused owing to a reported side-effect in a patient in the UK.
Prof Farrar told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme yesterday that putting a trial on hold is a common occurrence but each one must be taken seriously.
“There are often pauses in vaccine trials,” he said.
“For me it underlines just how important it is that these vaccine trials are done properly, that they have independent oversight, that the regulator is involved and we can trust and support that regulator and that we take these sorts of pauses seriously.
“Yes, they do happen quite commonly in vaccine trials when you’re offering a vaccine to tens of thousands of individuals, but each one must be taken seriously.”
The government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, told a Downing Street press conference what has happened in the Oxford trial is not unusual.
He added that similar events should also be expected in some of the other vaccine candidate trials.
But he said that overall there is positive news on vaccine and therapeutics.
Sir Patrick said: “So vaccines are progressing – some will read out this year in terms of efficacy and safety. There’s a reasonable chance that therefore, we can think about the possibility of vaccination next year sometime at larger levels, and that is pretty much what we thought of beginning.”
News site St at first reported the pause in testing and said the possible side - effect occurred in a testing volunteer in Britain, who was expected to recover.