Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine trial paused due to 'unexplained illness'

A Johnson & Johnson building in Irvine.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Johnson & Johnson on Monday night announced that it has paused its COVID-19 vaccine trial due to one of the volunteers coming down with an "unexplained illness."

In a statement, Johnson & Johnson said that under its guidelines, the "participant's illness is being reviewed and evaluated" by the study's independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB), as well as internal clinical and safety physicians. The company also said that "adverse events — illnesses, accidents, etc. — even those that are serious, are an expected part of any clinical study, especially large studies."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.