COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Put on Hold for Safety Check

A promising COVID-19 vaccine, which was about to be tested on Minnesotans, is now being paused and investigated for potentially serious side effects.

Just recently, Bloomington-based HealthPartners announced that Minnesotans could enroll in trials for a vaccine created by Oxford University.

In early September, HealthPartners reportedly filled more than 1,000 of its 1,500 slots in the national trial, actually crashing the recruitment website at one point.

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is leading those trials, but says they’re now on hold because one of the patients, in the United Kingdom, developed an unexplained illness.

AstraZeneca said the company voluntarily paused vaccination to allow a review of safety data by an independent committee.. And said it’s a routine action whenever potentially unexplained illness occurs in these trials.

According to HealthPartners, patients will be rescheduled when the evaluation of the vaccine trial is complete.

The news comes as health officials are concerned with a big spike in infections, deaths and hospitalizations in Minnesota, and nationally, as students go back to school and colder temperatures arrive, leading to more people inside.

HealthPartners’ vaccine trial is just one of many studies happening in Minnesota. For more information on the COVID-19 research studies happening in Minnesota, you can visit the Minnesota Department of Health’s website.