Participant in AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine trial had serious neurological symptoms

New details about the individual who triggered a global shutdown of the Phase 3 clinical trial of a Covid-19 vaccine being co-developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford emerged yesterday. The participant was a woman from the U.K. who experienced neurological symptoms consistent with a rare but serious spinal inflammatory disorder called transverse myelitis, AstraZeneca's chief executive Pascal Soriot shared during a call with investors. Although the woman's diagnosis hadn't been confirmed, Soriot said that her condition was improving and that she was expected to be discharged soon. During the call, Soriot also revealed that the vaccine trial had previously been halted in July after another participant experienced neurological symptoms, although it was later diagnosed as multiple sclerosis and unrelated to the Covid-19 vaccine being tested.

Here's what else is new with the pandemic: 

• A new Commonwealth Fund survey of nearly 1,300 people further underscores the uneven impact of Covid-19 on vulnerable populations: More than half of Black and Latinx individuals reported some kind of economic challenge, compared to 1 in 5 white people. At the same time, nearly 40% of women reported mental health struggles, compared to 1 in 4 men. 
• HHS yesterday issued guidance allowing pharmacists to be able to administer a Covid-19 vaccine to anyone age 3 and older when one becomes available. The vaccine has to be FDA-approved, and must be administered according to CDC recommendations. 
• Researchers in the U.K. have developed a scoring system to better assess a patient's risk of dying from Covid-19. The model, which was developed based on data from more than 35,000 patients with Covid-19, stratifies patients into four risk groups on a scale of 21 points. Those with a score of 9 or higher have a 40% higher risk of death, while that figure increases to 62% with a score of 15 or higher. In a separate analysis, this new system was also more accurately able to determine the risk of death than other scoring methods currently in use.