tirsdag 10. november 2020

Covid: China's Sinovac vaccine trial halted in Brazil


The Brazilian clinical trial for a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine has been suspended after health authorities reported a "severe adverse incident". Brazilian health regulator Anvisa said the incident had taken place on 29 October but gave no further details. The suspension reportedly followed the death of a volunteer, but it is not clear if it was related to the trial.

Dimas Covas, the head of the Butantan institute conducting the trials, said there had been no adverse reactions. Mr Covas told reporters the suspension had caused "indignation" and that the organisers of the trials had not been consulted. The CoronaVac vaccine, developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech, is one of several in final-stage testing globally. Sinovac says it is "confident in the safety of the vaccine". The firm has already been using it to immunise thousands of people at home in an emergency use programme.