Brazil Halts and Re-Starts Phase 3 Clinical Trials of Chinese COVID-19 Vaccine
Brazil briefly stopped clinical trials of CoronaVac, the Chinese-made experimental vaccine for COVID-19, after a death among trial participants was reported on Nov 9, 2020. The Bhutantan Institute in San Paulo, Brazil had been conducting Phase 3 trials with more than 10,000 volunteers when the study was halted.1 However, within days, Bhutantan officials announced they […]
Flu Shot Deaths in South Korea Said to Be “Coincidental”
Story Highlights More than 80 people have died in South Korea following influenza vaccination. After an investigation into the safety of the vaccines, South Korean health authorities ruled the deaths as “coincidental.” The public health agency in South Korea has decided to continue and promote its free influenza vaccine program despite public anxiety relating to […]
CureVac’s COVID-19 Vaccine Produces Grade 3 Adverse Events
Biopharmaceutical company CureVac NV of Tübingen, Germany has released the interim results of its Phase 1 clinical trial on its experimental CVnCoV vaccine COVID-19. The vaccine, which was given to more than 250 healthy adults 18 to 60 years of age, is based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology.1 2 Unlike traditional vaccines, mRNA vaccines […]
Brazilian Doctor Dies Participating in AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Trial
Story Highlights A COVID-19 vaccine trial participant, who was a physician working with COVID-19 patients at hospitals in Brazil, has reportedly died from coronavirus infection complications. It has not been confirmed, but sources indicate the victim was given the trial “placebo” (a meningococcal vaccine) and not the experimental AZD1222 vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca […]
Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine Provokes ‘COVID-Like Symptoms’ in Phase 3 Trial
Biotechnology firm Moderna, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts began a Phase 3 human clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of its experimental mRNA-1273 COVID-19 vaccine on July 27, 2020. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial involves giving two 100-microgram doses of the vaccine to 28,618 volunteer participants over 18 years of age, including some elderly people […]
Johnson & Johnson Pauses Phase 3 COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Following ‘Unexplained Illness’
Story Highlights Weeks after Johnson & Johnson announced that their experimental COVID-19 vaccine was in final, Phase 3 testing, the company has paused the study to evaluate an unexplained illness in a study participant. AstraZeneca’s late-stage vaccine trial is also still on pause in the U.S. after two cases of a neurological illness arose in […]