AstraZeneca plc (NYSE:AZN) has been in the spotlight lately and it seems for the wrong reasons especially after two patients experienced severe adverse from the company's pipeline vaccine.
Analysts have expressed concerns that the company has not been as transparent as it should be. AstraZeneca recently released an update of its coronavirus vaccine trials. However, observers feel that the company should be more transparent about how it is testing the vaccine. This comes after a survey whose findings indicate that Americans are becoming more skeptical about coronavirus vaccines and quite a number of them would not accept a vaccine.
The concerns from Americans reflects the lack of transparency
It is not surprising that Americans are skeptical about receiving any vaccine. Most people are concerned that a vaccine might cause more harm than good especially considering the rushed timeline. The concerns over Astrazeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine started to mount after the company refused to disclose the treatment details of two female participants involved in the clinical trials of the company's vaccine. It is known that the two patients suffered severe neurological illnesses after being treated with the pipeline vaccine.
The two cases were so severe that the company had to pause its clinical trials twice. The company has not resumed clinical trials in the U.S despite resuming in other countries such as South Africa, India, Brazil, and the UK. A recent publication by Oxford, Astrazeneca’s partner in the coronavirus vaccine development pursuits, stated that the adverse effects in the two patients were not related to the vaccine itself.
AstraZeneca may have known that it was going to face backlash for allegedly withholding information on the two patients. However, it is the vaccine testing data that analysts have been concerned about. As far as the patients who suffered severe illnesses are concerned, the data was published after an independent review. This may dispel the fears about the vaccine but there are still questions regarding the vaccine development process.