Oxford Kept COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Volunteers in Dark About Do | COVID-19 Up

Oxford Kept COVID-19 Vaccine Trial Volunteers in Dark About Dosing Error, Letter Shows

@COVID19Up: About 1,500 of the initial volunteers in a late-stage clinical trial of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were given the wrong dose, but weren’t informed that a mistake had been made after the blunder was discovered, documents obtained by Reuters show.

Instead, the dosing mishap was presented to the trial participants in a letter dated June 8 as an opportunity for University of Oxford researchers to learn how well the vaccine works at different doses. The letter was signed by the trial’s chief investigator, Oxford professor Andrew J. Pollard, and sent to the trial subjects.

As Reuters reported on Dec. 24, participants were given about a half dose due to a measuring mistake by Oxford researchers. The Pollard letter didn’t acknowledge any error. Nor did it disclose that researchers had reported the issue to British medical regulators.

Reuters shared the letter—which it obtained from the university through a Freedom of Information request—with three different experts in medical ethics. The ethicists all said it indicates the researchers may not have been transparent with trial participants. Volunteers in clinical trials are supposed to be kept fully informed about any changes. SOURCE

Join the discussion:
➔ @COVID1984chat