AstraZeneca Reports Death of Brazilian Clinical Trial Participant... "Trial Will Continue"

"Death of Participant in Placebo Group, Not Vaccinated"
Concerns Raised Over Significant Increase in COVID Vaccine Distrust

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] It has been reported that a participant in AstraZeneca's clinical trial in Brazil, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies developing a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, has died. AstraZeneca stated that the deceased was in the placebo group used for vaccine efficacy comparison, not the vaccine recipient group, but concerns are rising that distrust in the developed vaccine will increase. Previously, AstraZeneca's vaccine faced safety concerns after a participant in the UK clinical trial was diagnosed with transverse myelitis last month, leading to the suspension of clinical trials in the United States.

According to foreign media including CNBC on the 21st (local time), the National Health Surveillance Agency under the Brazilian Ministry of Health announced in a statement that one participant in AstraZeneca's Phase 3 clinical trial in Brazil had died. According to the UK Daily Mail, the deceased clinical trial participant was a 28-year-old young Brazilian doctor named Joao Pedro R. Feitosa. He reportedly died on the 19th due to complications from COVID-19. AstraZeneca explained that the deceased was in the "placebo group" who did not receive the vaccine, and that the death was not related to the vaccine.

They added, "Due to medical confidentiality issues, we cannot respond to individual cases, but we have followed all necessary review processes," and "All serious medical issues are being carefully evaluated by independent safety monitoring committees and investigators." Brazilian health authorities also announced that the clinical trials will continue based on recommendations from an independent committee.

AstraZeneca is conducting Phase 3 clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine in the UK, the United States, Brazil, and South Africa. Previously, the trial was temporarily suspended after a participant in the UK trial was found to have a condition suspected to be transverse myelitis in September. Since then, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been conducting investigations and safety reviews, and the clinical trial has not yet resumed in the U.S. With the news of a participant's death in Brazil, concerns about the risks of the COVID-19 vaccine are expected to increase further.

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