AstraZeneca is still waiting for the FDA to grant its approval for the resumption of its coronavirus vaccine trials, Reuters reports, after a pause of almost three weeks.
The trials were halted after regulators demanded an investigation into an illness in one of the trial's participants, which Oxford University (whose researchers are collaborating with AstraZeneca) says may not be linked to the potential vaccine at all. The vaccine's trials outside the United States have since resumed.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on Wednesday the continued suspension showed the FDA was taking vaccine safety seriously.
AstraZeneca has said that one of the obstacles to the trial's resumption has been the difficulty of revealing clinical data without compromising the privacy of the trial's participants. “We are discussing with other companies as an industry what information we can offer without compromising patient privacy but also without compromising the trial itself,” said the company's CEO.