Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine trials halted

Johnson & Johnson halted clinical trials of its Covid-19 vaccine after an “unexplained illness” in a participant was found.

The company said in a statement on Monday evening that illnesses, accidents and other so-called adverse events “are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies”

According to the company the participant’s illness is being evaluated and it would share the information after investigation.

In the investigation its physicians and a safety monitoring panel would try to determine what might have caused the illness.

J&J shares fell 2.4% in trading before U.S. exchanges opened.

The vaccine is undergoing tests in as many as 60,000 volunteers from Peru to South Africa.

With several drug companies tryin to develop a coronavirus vaccine, facilitated by Operation Warp Speed, the US government effort to speed up development the news of any setbacks are being closely watched by politicians and Americans eager for a way out of a pandemic that has killed more than 214,000.

Details on Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine

Johnson & Johnson revealed in a statement;

“We have temporarily paused further dosing in all our COVID-19 vaccine candidate clinical trials,”

Johnson & Johnson did not reveal the nature of the illness that brought its trial to a standstill, noting in a statement:

“We must respect this participant’s privacy.”

The statement continued:

“We’re also learning more about this participant’s illness, and it’s important to have all the facts before we share additional information,”

Johnson & Johnson began enrolling volunteers in its Phase 3 study on Sept. 23.

Researchers planned to enroll 60,000 participants in the United States and other countries.

To prove if its single-dose approach is safe and protects against the coronavirus.

But due to this unexpected turns of events, Johnson & Johnson have ceased their enrolling of participants.

Because as said by the company that they have put a “pause” on their research.