Wits resumes Covid-19 vaccine trial Braamfontein – Wits University has resumed the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial, after the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and local ethics committees gave the go-ahead. Vaccine trial leader Professor Shabir Madhi said pausing vaccination to review safety is evidence of the application of sound clinical practice. “It demonstrates the rigour of the independent oversight process under which this trial is being conducted,” he said. The Oxford Covid-19 vaccine
Braamfontein – Wits University has resumed the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial, after the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and local ethics committees gave the go-ahead.
Vaccine trial leader Professor Shabir Madhi said pausing vaccination to review safety is evidence of the application of sound clinical practice.
“It demonstrates the rigour of the independent oversight process under which this trial is being conducted,” he said.
The Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial is also underway in the United States, United Kingdom and Brazil.
The trial was paused in the United Kingdom last week after a medical event concerning one trial participant.
Professor Madhi confirmed that vaccination resumed on Tuesday.
“The South African study is overseen by the same independent Data and Safety Monitoring Committee as in the United Kingdom, so all sites in South Africa paused vaccination. The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority and Wits University ethics committees have now approved resuming vaccination. Assessing safety of the vaccine is the reason why studies such as these are essential in South Africa, before there is widespread use of the vaccine,” says Madhi.
