Clinical trials for the coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca PLC and Oxford University resumed in Brazil on Monday after the country’s health regulator got confirmation over the weekend that its British equivalent MHRA had approved the restart, a company representative said.
AstraZeneca has paused a late-stage trial of one of the leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates after a suspected serious adverse reaction in a study participant, health news website Stat News reported on Tuesday.
Mexico will need up to 200 million coronavirus vaccine doses, according to a senior government official, and inoculation of its 120 million inhabitants could start as early as April if clinical trials and regulatory approvals for pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca go as planned.
The European Union has agreed to buy at least 300 million doses of AstraZeneca's potential COVID-19 vaccine in its first such advance purchase deal, which could weaken plans led by the World Health Organization (WHO) for a global approach.
President Alberto Fernández, announced on Wednesday that Argentina together with Mexico, will produce for Latin America the coronavirus vaccine developed by the AstraZeneca laboratory in collaboration with the British University of Oxford.
This is a clear example of the kind of cooperation needed to battle the Covid-19 pandemic globally, UK Ambassador Mark Kent said following the Wednesday announcement of the agreement for the production in Argentina of the vaccine currently being developed by the AstraZeneca lab and the University of Oxford.
Brazilian billionaire Jorge Lemann's foundation and other business interests will fund the building of the factory to produce the Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
Brazilian officials say they can start making COVID-19 vaccines developed by British and Chinese researchers within a year. Experts say it will take at least twice as long, leaving Brazil reliant on imports to slow the world's second-worst outbreak.
Chinese drug company Sinopharm and Parana state have agreed to launch the fourth major COVID-19 vaccine trial in Brazil and will seek regulatory approval in the next two weeks, the Brazilian partners said on Wednesday.
By Rebecca Ashfiled (*) – A vaccine against COVID-19 is urgently needed if we’re to stop the virus spreading and prevent potentially millions of further deaths. We’re now one step closer to that goal.