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Drug trials pause all the time when there's an adverse reaction. Frankly, it's miraculous we're already at this stage of testing a vaccine, and it's good to see they're not just going to rush out something that may be dangerous.
It is genuinely amazing that less than a year after this virus was discovered, they're already at the mass testing phase, and particularly encouraging that even with this incredible speed they're not cutting corners with making sure it's safe.
And even if there is a rare strong adverse reaction to the vaccine itself, that in itself isn't something that necessarily means they have to pull the whole thing, it's a matter of understanding what happens and why and if some people are more at risk than others.
For example, if it turns out particular people are more likely to experience a particular side effect, or if some people respond less well to the vaccine than others, that's a good thing to find out, because it means these people can be directed to different options.
This is why all treatments should have mass trials before being rolled out! Even when other studies and the lab suggests it should be safe, it's not likely to work exactly as it does under ideal circumstances.
And even if this mass trial shows that the Oxford vaccine comes with unacceptable risks of adverse reactions, that's still not a reason to panic, because there are many other vaccines looking promising which are being trialled, too!
There's one thing to be concerned about with the Oxford vaccine pause story and that's how information about a trial being paused due to an adverse reaction, including clinical data about a trial participant, got out in the first place, because confidentiality is so vital!
