×
GreekEnglish

×
  • Politics
  • Diaspora
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Cooking
Wednesday
29
Apr 2026
weather symbol
Athens 21°C
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • World
  • Diaspora
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Mediterranean Cooking
  • Weather
Contact follow Protothema:
Powered by Cloudevo
> World

AstraZeneca, under fire for vaccine safety, releases trial blueprints

Experts are concerned that the company has not been more forthcoming about two more participants who became seriously ill

Newsroom September 21 04:34

AstraZeneca revealed details of its large coronavirus vaccine trials on Saturday, the third in a wave of rare disclosures by drug companies under pressure to be more transparent about how they are testing products that are the world’s best hope for ending the pandemic.

Polls are finding Americans increasingly wary of accepting a coronavirus vaccine. And scientists inside and outside the government are worried that regulators, pressured by the president for results before Election Day on Nov. 3, might release an unproven or unsafe vaccine.

“The release of these protocols seems to reflect some public pressure to do so,” said Natalie Dean, a biostatistician and expert in clinical trial design for vaccines at the University of Florida. “This is an unprecedented situation, and public confidence is such a huge part of the success of this endeavor.”

Experts have been particularly concerned about AstraZeneca’s vaccine trials, which began in April in Britain, because of the company’s refusal to provide details about serious neurological illnesses in two participants, both women, who received its experimental vaccine in Britain. Those cases spurred the company to halt its trials twice, the second time earlier this month. The studies have resumed in Britain, Brazil, India and South Africa, but are still on pause in the U.S. About 18,000 people worldwide have received AstraZeneca’s vaccine so far.

See Also:

High school students across Greece protest mandatory use of Covid-19 masks with sit-ins

>Related articles

Trump rejects Iranian proposal: “We will not lift naval blockade without a nuclear deal”

Two Jewish men were seriously injured in a knife attack in north London – The attacker has been arrested

Greek Community of Toronto: Theater Show – May 23, 24 & 31

Travel + Leisure: Skopelos one of the “30 Secret Islands to Visit for the Ultimate Secluded Vacation”

AstraZeneca’s 111-page trial blueprint, known as a protocol, states that its goal is a vaccine with 50 percent effectiveness — the same threshold that the Food and Drug Administration has set in its guidance for coronavirus vaccines. To determine with statistical confidence whether the company has met that target, there will have to be 150 people ill with confirmed coronavirus among participants who were vaccinated or received placebo shots.

Read more: NY Times

Ask me anything

Explore related questions

#AstraZeneca#coronavirus#COVID-19#vaccine#world
> More World

Follow en.protothema.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news

See all the latest News from Greece and the World, the moment they happen, at en.protothema.gr

> Latest Stories

May Day: Metro, Electric Railway, Tram, trains and ferries come to a halt – how buses will operate

April 29, 2026

Metron Analysis: ND at 28.6% with losses, PASOK at 15%, gains for Tsipras, decline for Karystianou

April 29, 2026

“Emily in Paris” officially to film in Mykonos in May, with Mitsotakis seal of approval – What he said at Cabinet

April 29, 2026

Ministry of Culture: Restoration and enhancement of the acropolis of Ancient Pelinna in Thessaly

April 29, 2026

Trump rejects Iranian proposal: “We will not lift naval blockade without a nuclear deal”

April 29, 2026

Tripartite Greece–Bulgaria–Turkey meeting in Athens on migration: “strict line and measurable results,” says Plevris

April 29, 2026

Brown and purple jellyfish fill the Euboean Gulf — video shows hundreds along the coast

April 29, 2026

Mitsotakis on “executive state”: Parliament and government have different responsibilities, we understand the role of MPs

April 29, 2026
All News

> Greece

In reverence, the emotional deposition in Jerusalem, see photos & video

The Holy Temple of the Resurrection opened after many days due to the war between Israel and Iran

April 10, 2026

In the final stretch for the accreditation of joint master’s degrees: Aiming for their launch in the coming academic year

April 10, 2026

Schedule for Epitaph Procession today (10/4)

April 10, 2026

Perfect weather for Easter excursions, according to Tsatrafyllia’s forecast

April 10, 2026

Easter in Greece: The customs that continue in Greek tradition – From Nafpaktos to Corfu

April 10, 2026
Homepage
PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION POLICY COOKIES POLICY TERM OF USE
Powered by Cloudevo
Copyright © 2026 Πρώτο Θέμα