text: AstraZeneca, Oxford resume coronavirus vaccine trials - New York Daily News
  AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trials resume in U.K., days after study was paused over suspected adverse reaction
  Oxford University says on Saturday, Sept. 12 trials of a coronavirus vaccine that it is developing with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca will resume, days after being paused due to a reported side-effect in a patient in the U.K. (Alastair Grant/AP)
  A major contender in the race to find the world's first COVID-19 vaccine is resuming clinical trials in the U.K., days after the study was paused when a participant fell ill.
  On Saturday, pharma giant AstraZeneca announced that trials for the AZD1222 vaccine resumed "following confirmation by the Medicines Health Regulatory Authority (MHRA) that it was safe to do so."
  Earlier this week, phase 3 testing in one of the three major worldwide coronavirus vaccine trials was halted, after a suspected adverse reaction was noted in one participant.
  "On 6 September, the standard review process triggered a voluntary pause to vaccination across all global trials to allow review of safety data by independent committees, and international regulators," the company said in a statement.
  "The U.K. committee has concluded its investigations and recommended to the MHRA that trials in the U.K. are safe to resume," it added.
  AZD1222 is being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, and it's seen as one of the strongest contenders among a number of vaccines undergoing testing around the world.
  Oxford University said that it was "expected" that "some participants will become unwell" in large trials such as this, the BBC reported.
  On Wednesday, the U.K.'s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, agreed, saying during a press conference that what happened in the Oxford trial was not unusual.
  After the announcement Saturday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock celebrated the latest developments on Twitter.
  "Good news for everyone: the Oxford vaccine trials are back up and running," he wrote. "This pause shows we will always put safety first. We will back our scientists to deliver an effective vaccine as soon as safely possible."
  The company said that it is "committed to the safety of trial participants and the highest standards of conduct in clinical trials," adding that it will "continue to work with health authorities across the world and be guided as to when other clinical trials can resume to provide the vaccine broadly, equitably and at no profit during this pandemic."
  According to The Associated Press, around 18,000 people have received the vaccine in the U.K., Brazil and South Africa. Some 30,000 volunteers are currently being recruited in the U.S.