According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the University of Queensland, working in partnership with Australian global biotech company CSL, will abandon its current clinical trials following the discovery. On Monday, the scientists informed the government about the results of clinical trials.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that the government decided to terminate purchasing the vaccine amid fears that the information about HIV infection would severely damage the Australian public’s confidence in the COVID-19 vaccination program.
The Australian vaccine candidate used a protein and adjuvant platform, containing the COVID-19 spike protein and a component taken from the human immunodeficiency virus, known as HIV, that is not able to infect people or replicate, the publication said.
The prime minister noted that the government had "spread the risk" in advance, by reaching several deals on the vaccine delivery, including the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca.