COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Pauses After Adverse Reaction

The hold will likely delay trial results, and scientists say the pause is proof that safety protocols in clinical trials are working as they should.

Written byAmanda Heidt

| 4 min read

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COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, pandemic, AstraZeneca, University of Oxford, clinical trial, adverse effects, safety, FDA

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Update (September 14): Oxford University and AstraZeneca announced Saturday, September 12, that they will be resuming their UK trials after a temporary pause following a case of transverse myelitis in a UK patient.

A series of late-stage clinical trials establishing the effectiveness and safety of a joint AstraZeneca and University of Oxford COVID-19 vaccine are on hold after one UK participant in a Phase 3 trial developed a severe and unexplained illness.

The incident was first reported on Tuesday (September 8) by STAT. The pause will delay results from one of the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccine development efforts. A company spokesperson says the measure has been taken out of an abundance of caution.

“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated,” AstraZeneca shared in a prepared statement. “We are ...

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Meet the Author

Amanda Heidt
Amanda first began dabbling in scicom as a master’s student studying marine science at Moss Landing Marine Labs, where she edited the student blog and interned at a local NPR station. She enjoyed that process of demystifying science so much that after receiving her degree in 2019, she went straight into a second master’s program in science communication at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Formerly an intern at The Scientist, Amanda joined the team as a staff reporter and editor in 2021 and oversaw the publication’s internship program, assigned and edited the Foundations, Scientist to Watch, and Short Lit columns, and contributed original reporting across the publication. Amanda’s stories often focus on issues of equity and representation in academia, and she brings this same commitment to DEI to the Science Writers Association of the Rocky Mountains and to the board of the National Association of Science Writers, which she has served on since 2022. She is currently based in the outdoor playground that is Moab, Utah. Read more of her work at www.amandaheidt.com.
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