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NO volunteer taking part in crucial clinical trials for a potential Covid-19 vaccine in Bahrain has reported to be suffering from adverse symptoms needing hospital treatment.
The reassurance from National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (Covid-19) monitoring committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr Manaf Al Qahtani came in response to queries related to the halted Oxford vaccination trial at an online Press conference held yesterday.
The final clinical trials for this potential coronavirus vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University, have been put on hold after a participant had a suspected adverse reaction in the UK.
It is not being tested in Bahrain.
The New York Times said the volunteer was diagnosed with transverse myelitis, an inflammatory syndrome that affects the spinal cord and can be caused by viral infections. AstraZeneca described it as a ‘routine’ pause in the case of ‘an unexplained illness’.
“It is normal in any trial for a person to face symptoms which could be of two types,” explained Dr Al Qahtani. “One could be the symptoms on the sidelines while the other is when the person has to report to hospital.
“In Bahrain we are using an inactivated vaccine and so far no volunteers have been to the hospitals with symptoms from the vaccine.”
The Phase Three Covid-19 vaccine clinical trials are underway in the country, with almost 4,000 people willingly stepping forward to be part of the initiative.
This involves an ‘inactivated vaccine’, which will not cause the coronavirus but, hopefully, create immunity.
Dr Al Qahtani noted that only mild symptoms of reddishness at the injection spot which lasted for 24 hours or less have been reported, which he said, was from, ‘all the 3,000 volunteers’.
“Some of the volunteers said that they felt pain at the site, but it went away and yet another symptom was increased body temperature.
“This is due to the new substance that the body is reacting to and paracetamol is enough to deal with it.
“With any clinical trial, follow-up is important, not just to evaluate one case, but the more we have, the more information we have on the vaccine.”
The randomised trials of Sinopharm’s Covid-19 vaccine began in Bahrain on August 10.
The GDN reported that a senior Chinese researcher from Sinopharm stationed in Bahrain overseeing the trials reassured that the vaccine which was approved for emergency use as part of a programme to vaccinate high-risk groups like medics in China recorded success in “safety and effectiveness”.
Dr Al Qahtani renewed the appeal for more volunteers to step forward to take part in the vaccine trials at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre clinical facility under the theme ‘Volunteering for Humanity’.
“I hope that those who may have been hesitant to take part at the start will visit the centre and see for themselves – our objective is to reach 6,000 volunteers and we call upon all to come forward.
“The goal is to find a safe and effective vaccine and to put a fingerprint in the name of Bahrain for humanity.”
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