22 Oct
The Brazilian government has announced the death of a volunteer in the clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine being developed by British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
Health authorities in Brazil said on Wednesday that the volunteer died this month. The authorities have not revealed any further information, but indicated that the trial would continue.
Brazilian media say the volunteer was a 28-year-old doctor in Rio de Janeiro, who had been taking part in the clinical trial since July. The reports say the volunteer was infected with the coronavirus in September.
AstraZeneca has told NHK that all significant medical events are carefully assessed by trial investigators, an independent safety monitoring committee and the regulatory authorities. It said these assessments have not led to any concerns about the continuation of the ongoing study.
Oxford University said a careful assessment found no concerns about the safety of the clinical trial.
More than 5,000 people in Brazil have reportedly taken part in the clinical trial for the vaccine since the recruiting of volunteers began in June.
NHK
