A Brazilian volunteer in AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine trial has passed away

Anvisa, the Brazilian health agency, has recently announced that a Brazilian volunteer in AstraZeneca’s (AZ) COVID-19 vaccine trial has passed away, with reports adding that the death occurred in the placebo arm. Despite the fatality, Anvisa said that the trials of the COVID-19 vaccine would continue.

A source familiar with the subject, Reuters, verified that if the subject had received the COVID-19 vaccine, the experiment would have been halted, which means that the death occurred in the study’s placebo arm.

A spokesperson for Oxford University stated: “Following careful assessment of this case in Brazil there have been no concerns about the safety of the clinical trial, and the independent review in addition to the Brazilian regulator have recommended that the trial should continue.”