AstraZeneca has announced it has resumed dosing in clinical trials of its investigative COVID-19 vaccine.
The company announced on Saturday the UK regulator - Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) - had confirmed it was safe to resume dosing following an investigation of a single adverse event.
"On 6 September, the standard review process triggered a voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials to allow review of safety data by independent committees, and international regulators. The UK committee has concluded its investigations and recommended to the MHRA that trials in the UK are safe to resume," said the company in a statement.
Dosing in late-stage trials of the vaccine was halted after a UK participant experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a rare but serious spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis.
Dosing has resumed but the company said it and its partner, The University of Oxford, are unable to disclose further information on the event.
"All trial investigators and participants will be updated with the relevant information and this will be disclosed on global clinical registries, according to the clinical trial and regulatory standards," it said.
The vaccine is considered one of the leading candidates. The Australian government recently announced agreements to procure over 30 million doses of the vaccine, if it is approved.
