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A Different Pause

Johnson & Johnson has paused its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine trial due to an unexplained illness affecting a study participant, according to Stat News.

J&J announced in September it was starting late-stage testing of its SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which, unlike other candidate COVID-19 vaccines, relies on a single vaccine dose. It said it planned to enroll 60,000 volunteers at more than 200 locations in the US and across the world. 

But, according to Stat News, J&J confirmed there was an unexplained illness among one of its study participants, though it declined to go into specific details. "Following our guidelines, the participant's illness is being reviewed and evaluated by the ENSEMBLE independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) as well as our internal clinical and safety physicians," the firm says in a statement, referring to its Phase 3 trial.

AstraZeneca in September paused its SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccine trial following a report of a participant with a neurological condition, though its testing has resumed in the UK and other non-US locations. 

The Scan

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