Brazil suspends China coronavirus vaccine trial after ‘unrelated death’
- Research centre head questions decision to halt trials, says ‘severe adverse event’ had nothing to do with vaccine
- Announcement clashes with start of building work on factory in Sao Paulo earmarked for CoronaVac production
In a statement on Monday, national health surveillance agency Anvisa said “a severe adverse event” had occurred on October 29 without further elaboration. “The agency decided to suspend the study to evaluate the data observed so far and judge the risk and benefit of continuing the study,” it said.
“We found [the Anvisa order] a bit strange,” Covas told broadcaster TV Cultura. “It’s a death unrelated to the vaccine. Because there are more than 10,000 volunteers right now, the person can have a traffic accident and die. This never leads to the interruption of a clinical trial. I ask now that tomorrow, at the first hour, these details get clarified.”
Sinovac said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon that it “had confidence in the safety of the vaccine” and would communicate with Brazilian authorities on the matter, adding that clinical trials in Brazil would continue to be carried out “in strict accordance with Good Clinical Practice” requirements.
No halt to trials have been announced in Indonesia and Turkey, where the vaccine candidate is also being tested.