COVID-19: AstraZeneca vaccine trial volunteer dies, authorities say testing to continue

In a major setback amid the COVID-19 battle, Brazilian health authority Anvisa on Wednesday said that a volunteer in a clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University has died. AstraZeneca recently developed a potential vaccine for COVID-19 in partnership with Oxford University. The World Health Organisation (WHO) called it a frontrunner in the race of COVID-19 vaccine development. 

The company stated that it had received data from an investigation into the matter and added that the testing of the vaccine would continue after the volunteer's death. Citing the medical confidentiality of those involved in trials, the regulator provided no further details. 

It may be noted that the pharmaceutical firm had to stop the clinical trial last month, after some volunteers experienced unspecified illnesses, not sure whether linked to the vaccine or not. The company, however, resumed the trials after a day or so and is continuing in several countries.

Meanwhile, Brazil has been one of the worst-hit countries with over 154,000 deaths by COVID-19, following only the United States. In terms of infection, it is the third-worst country with more than 5.2 million infected.

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Functioning of AZD1222

The COVID-19 vaccine candidate, AZD1222, developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca start producing coronavirus spike protein after it enters cells. The spike protein prompts the immune system to produce antibodies and trigger T-cells to destroy the infected cells. If the individual encounters the novel coronavirus, the antibodies and T-cells are activated to fight the virus.

Last month, the Australian government signed a $1.7 billion supply and production agreement under which the University of Oxford/AstraZeneca and the University of Queensland/CSL will provide more than 84.8 million vaccine doses. The government struck a deal with CSL Ltd to manufacture two potential coronavirus vaccines - one developed by Oxford University/AstraZeneca and the other by CSL’s own labs in collaboration with the University of Queensland.

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