The first delivery of a COVID-19 vaccine is still expected in Malta in December, despite a pause in clinical trials, virologist Chris Barbara has reassured.
The most advanced experimental vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University was put on hold on Tuesday after a volunteer developed an unexplained illness.
Malta and other EU states will be acquiring doses of that vaccine and news of the postponed trials sparked fears that procurement will be delayed.
But Barbara said “no change is expected” to the December arrival. The plan, pending successful trials, is for vulnerable persons and front-liners to be immediately vaccinated first, before offering it to the community.
“This is the norm in trials to ensure safety. Once it is established that there is no link to the vaccine, the trial will continue,” said Barbara, clinical chairman at Mater Dei’s Pathology Department.
AstraZeneca’s fast-moving trials are expected to be concluded by the end of the year.
A company spokesperson said in a statement that "we voluntarily paused vaccination to allow review of safety data by an independent committee”.
In large trials, illnesses will sometimes happen by chance, but must be reviewed independently, AstraZeneca continued.
"This is a routine action that has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain their integrity."
Medical news site Stat News, which first reported the volunteer's illness, had quoted a source saying it had involved a "serious adverse reaction" to the vaccine.
According to Stat News, the ill vaccine volunteer was likely participating in a Phase 2/3 trial based in the UK.
"While this is obviously not great news, remember that fully investigating adverse reactions is a part of large-scale trials and essential to ensure trust in any vaccine. It will, however, mean that results will be delayed," Harvard epidemiology expert Bill Hanage wrote on Twitter.
Across the world, governments are hoping to announce a vaccine as soon as possible and roll out treatments for COVID-19, which has infected more than 27 million people worldwide to date.
Russia has already approved a vaccine, and research published in The Lancet medical journal last week said patients involved in early tests developed antibodies with "no serious adverse events". But scientists cautioned the trials were too small.
China, meanwhile, put its homegrown vaccines on display for the first time at a Beijing trade fair this week, and authorities hope the jabs will be approved for use by the end of the year.
Malta’s December timeframe comes as the World Health Organisation said it did not expect “widespread immunisation” against the novel coronavirus until mid-2021, despite growing expectations that a vaccine could be released within weeks.