A promising COVID-19 vaccine trial has been put on hold after a participant suffered an adverse reaction.
It's a blow to the Federal Government, which this week signed a deal to manufacture the AstraZenica vaccine, developed by Oxford University researchers.
AstraZeneca described it as a "routine" pause in the case of "an unexplained illness". The company says the pause is a routing measure.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth denies it's a major setback for Australia's COVID-19 immunusation efforts.
"We have to keep in mind that tens of thousands of people have now received this Oxford vaccine. This is a testimony to the rigour and the safety focus that people are putting on vaccine development.
We'll see what happens with these reports for the Oxford vaccine and by no means it puts that vaccine completely off the table.But that's the reason why the Australian government is investing in multiple technologies, multiple candidates"
More than 160 coronavirus vaccines around the world are currently being tested
