Volunteer in AstraZeneca Oxford Vaccine Trials Died in Brazil

A few hours ago, the Brazilian National Health Surveillance Agency Anvisa announced the death of a Brazilian volunteer in AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine trials. The agency asserted on the continuity of the vaccine trials after the death of a volunteer.

In the same context, the Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported that the volunteer received a placebo, not the vaccine, and died of covid-19. The news service G1 identified the volunteer as a 28-year-old physician who treated coronavirus patients in Rio de Janeiro, according to The Washington Post.

The newspaper quoted the Spokesman of AstraZeneca statinh “We can confirm that all required review processes have been followed,” spokesman Brendan McEvoy said.

“All significant medical events are carefully assessed by trial investigators, an independent safety monitoring committee, and the regulatory authorities. These assessments have not led to any concerns about the continuation of the ongoing study.”

The clinical trial of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine has been suspended last month after a patient diagnosed with an unexplained illness.

Those two incidents raised the question of the safety of those vaccines and of their clinical trials especially in the light of the horrible breakthrough of the virus in Brazil.