Coronavirus: AstraZeneca and Oxford resume COVID-19 vaccine trial

Oxford University announced Saturday it is resuming a trial for a coronavirus vaccine.

London: On September 12, Oxford University announced  that it is resuming a trial for a coronavirus vaccine it is developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. This comes days  after the study was suspended following a reported side-effect in a UK. patient.

According to Associated Press,  the university confirmed the restart across all of its UK clinical trial sites after regulators gave the go-ahead following the pause on Sunday.

In a statement, the university said, "The independent review process has concluded and following the recommendations of both the independent safety review committee and the UK regulator, the MHRA, the trials will recommence in the UK."

It is to be noted that the vaccine being developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca is widely perceived to be one of the strongest contenders among the dozens of coronavirus vaccines in various stages of testing around the world.

According to reports, globally some 18,000 people have received its vaccine so far. Volunteers from some of the worst affected countries — Britain, Brazil, South Africa and the U.S. — are taking part in the trial.