The Brazilian trial of a vaccine created by the University of Oxford will go on despite the death of a volunteer, the institution announced on Wednesday.

The university said an independent review had found that there were no concerns about safety of the trial.

"Following careful assessment of this case in Brazil, there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical trial and the independent review in addition to the Brazilian regulator have recommended that the trial should continue," a spokesman for the university said in a statement.

The vaccine has been licenced to AstraZeneca, whose shares turned negative and fell 1.7 percent after the news broke on Wednesday evening.

The vaccine is in phase 3 trials, the final stage before a treatment is declared safe, in a number of countries.

Last month, the vaccine's UK trial was halted due to potentially dangerous side effects but it was later restarted.

AstraZeneca and Oxford University are believed to be among the leaders in a worldwide race to produce a coronavirus vaccine.

Brazil has the third highest numbers of coronavirus infections behind the U.S. and India but has the second-highest numbers of deaths behind the U.S.

(With input from agencies)