BELOW SUPERNAV drop zone ⇩

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trial in US may resume this week: sources

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

MAIN AREA TOP drop zone ⇩

maylen

https://digital-stage.newsnationnow.com/

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241114185800

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241115200405

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118165728

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241118184948

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trial in the United States is expected to resume as early as this week after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed its review of a serious illness, four sources told Reuters.

AstraZeneca’s large, late-stage U.S. trial has been on hold since Sept. 6, after a participant in the company’s UK trial fell ill with what was suspected to be a rare spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.

The sources, who were briefed on the matter but asked to remain anonymous, said they have been told the trial could resume later this week. It was unclear how the FDA would characterize the illness, they said.

The FDA did not respond to a request for comment.

The agency is requiring researchers conducting the trial to add information about the incident to consent forms signed by study participants, according to one of the sources.

UK regulatory officials previously reviewed the illness and determined there was “insufficient evidence to say for certain” that it was or was not related to the vaccine. It permitted the trial to resume enrolling participants in the UK, according to a draft of the updated consent form shared with Reuters.

“In this case, after considering the information, the independent reviewers and MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) recommended that vaccinations should continue,” the draft consent form stated. “Close monitoring of the affected individual and other participants will be continued.”

Regulators in Brazil, India and South Africa also previously allowed AstraZeneca to resume its vaccine trials there.

Responding to a request, British regulators shared with Reuters a draft of a form letter to UK vaccine trial participants, dated Oct. 14 and signed by the Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Team. It says the U.S. FDA had “completed their analysis” and said vaccination in the United States would resume shortly.

FDA “has come to the same conclusion as the other drug regulators including the MHRA,” the letter states. The regulator, Health Research Authority, did not say if the letter had been sent or immediately respond to questions about it.

An AstraZeneca spokeswoman said the communication is not from the company and it “cannot verify the content,” referring to the draft letter to patients.

“We also cannot comment on a pending FDA decision,” she said.

Coronavirus

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed

Site Settings Survey

 

MAIN AREA MIDDLE drop zone ⇩

Trending on NewsNation

AUTO TEST CUSTOM HTML 20241119133138

MAIN AREA BOTTOM drop zone ⇩

tt

KC Chiefs parade shooting: 1 dead, 21 shot including 9 kids | Morning in America

Witness of Chiefs parade shooting describes suspect | Banfield

Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting: Mom of 2 dead, over 20 shot | Banfield

WWE star Ashley Massaro 'threatened' by board to keep quiet about alleged rape: Friend | Banfield

Friend of WWE star: Ashley Massaro 'spent hours' sobbing after alleged rape | Banfield

Sunny

la

69°F Sunny Feels like 69°
Wind
6 mph SW
Humidity
27%
Sunrise
Sunset

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
46°F Clear to partly cloudy. Low 46F. Winds light and variable.
Wind
1 mph N
Precip
9%
Sunset
Moon Phase
Waning Gibbous