Drug manufacturing firm AstraZeneca said on Thursday that a COVID-19 vaccine will be available by as early as the end of the year, AFP reported. The statement came a day after the Swedish-British pharmaceutical giant announced it halted the Phase III trial of its COVID-19 vaccine after a UK volunteer developed an unexplained illness.

“We could still have a vaccine by the end of this year, early next year,” company’s chief executive Pascal Soriot said in comments at a media event, AFP reported

AstraZeneca has developed the vaccine ‘AZD1222’ in collaboration with the University of Oxford. AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate is one of nine around the world currently in late-stage Phase 3 human trials.

The company said the halt of its vaccine’s trial was a “routine action” designed to maintain the integrity of the trials. 

“This is a routine action which has to happen whenever there is a potentially unexplained illness in one of the trials, while it is investigated, ensuring we maintain the integrity of the trials,” the company’s spokesperson said on Wednesday. 

An independent committee was drafted in to review safety. 

“We will be guided by this committee as to when the trials could restart so that we can continue our work at the earliest opportunity,” Soriot said in a statement.

For the Phase III trial, the company reportedly enrolled 30,000 volunteers in the US for the vaccine trials. Smaller groups are being tested in Brazil and elsewhere in South America.