Earlier this week, a 28-year-old Brazilian physician, who had been a volunteer of Oxford-AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine candidate's clinical trial, died. His death sparked off fears that the vaccine is not safe.

However, it has been revealed that the physician was not administered the vaccine in the first place. He was on a placebo. He died due to COVID-19 complications, as he had contracted the virus.

BNO Newsroom reported that a lot of misinformation has been shared about the death of the vaccine volunteer in Brazil. "The doctor is reported to have received a placebo, not the vaccine. That's why Oxford University has said that there are no safety concerns," the report added.

A new study says that the vaccine candidate is "doing everything expected" and "provokes strong immunity".

Some commentators are disappointed with the way reportage has been done on the death of the Brazilian national. Brendan Nyhan, a political science professor, wrote, "I am even more worried about this kind of reporting when a vaccine is rolled out. Are they going to cover every unexplained or surprising death as a possible consequence of the vaccine? Easy to scare people with no basis in science."