US health official Fauci: AstraZeneca pause is a safety precaution

Commenting on AstraZeneca's pause to its phase-3 COVID-19 vaccine trial, Dr Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CBS that the decision was a safety precaution and was not uncommon.

"Hopefully, they'll work it out and be able to proceed along with the remainder of the trial but you don't know," Dr Fauci said on reports revealing that one person participating in the experiment fell ill with inflammation in the spinal cord. "They need to investigate it further."

Market reaction

These comments don't seem to be having a significant impact on market sentiment. As of writing, S&P 500 futures were up 0.65% on a daily basis.