In response to news about the AstraZeneca temporarily halting their vaccine trial, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas released the following statement:
“Donald Trump repeatedly tries to strong-arm experts and independent agencies into conforming to his political needs, including a desperate Hail Mary attempt to save his reelection by rushing the announcement of a miracle vaccine before Election Day. It’s outrageous.
“But this week, AstraZeneca did the right thing by letting their experts take the reins and following safety protocols to keep their vaccine trial subjects and the rest of us safe. After weeks of watching institutions we should be able to trust like the CDC and FDA capitulate to Donald Trump’s whims, the AstraZeneca trial gave the President a dose of reality by showing science doesn’t follow the Trump campaign’s timeline.”
STAT: AstraZeneca Covid-19 Vaccine Study Put On Hold Due To Suspected Adverse Reaction In Participant In The U.K.
- “A large, Phase 3 study testing a Covid-19 vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford at dozens of sites across the U.S. has been put on hold due to a suspected serious adverse reaction in a participant in the United Kingdom.” [Stat, 9/8/20]
New York Times: AstraZeneca Pauses Vaccine Trial for Safety Review
- “Drug companies are racing to complete a coronavirus vaccine that could bring an end to a pandemic that has already claimed more than 890,000 lives globally. AstraZeneca is a front-runner, with late-stage clinical trials underway around the world, and has said it hoped to have a vaccine ready before the end of the year. If the cause of the reaction turns out to be related to the vaccine, those efforts could be derailed.” [New York Times, 9/8/20]
- “In a statement, AstraZeneca described the trial’s halt, which was instituted voluntarily, as a ‘routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials.’ The company said that in large trials like the ones it is overseeing, participants do sometimes become sick by chance ‘but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully.’” [New York Times, 9/8/20]