Coronavirus: vaccine test volunteer who died during Oxford-AstraZeneca trial in Brazil had received a placebo
- Case is first death reported in worldwide vaccine trials, though media reports say what the deceased had received was not a test vaccine
- Study organisers say independent review found no safety concerns and testing would continue
A volunteer taking part in clinical trials of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University has died in Brazil, officials announced on Wednesday, though media reports said he had received a placebo, not the test vaccine.
It is the first death reported in the various coronavirus vaccine trials taking place worldwide.
However, organisers of the study said an independent review had concluded there were no safety concerns and that testing of the vaccine, developed with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, would continue.
Media reports said the volunteer was a 28-year-old doctor working on the front lines of the pandemic who died of complications from Covid-19.
Brazilian newspaper Globo and international news agency Bloomberg said he was in the control group and had received a placebo rather than the test vaccine, citing sources close to the trials.
“Following careful assessment of this case in Brazil, there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical trial, and the independent review in addition to the Brazilian regulator have recommended that the trial should continue,” Oxford said in a statement.