Andrew Lloyd Webber, 72, details his experience of Covid trials - Money

Andrew Lloyd Webber has detailed his experience of receiving an experimental coronavirus vaccine as part of an Oxford trial in a bid for all theatres to re-open.

The world-renowned composer, 72, appeared on Tuesday’s Good Morning Britain to reveal the tests – which were temporarily on hold after a volunteer reportedly developed ‘transverse myelitis’ – are ‘very carefully monitored’.

Impresario Andrew also insisted commercial theatre ‘can’t work’ with current social distancing measures and urged the government to provide the industry with ‘more help’.

‘It’s very carefully monitored’: Andrew Lloyd Webber has detailed his experience of receiving an experimental coronavirus vaccine as part of a trial in a bid for all theatres to re-open

On the trial, the songwriter told hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid: ‘It’s very carefully monitored, you do comprehensive blood tests.

‘I fill in a daily form online which I then say if I have any symptoms. All that information is collated.

‘They asked for older people to come down. They originally said not to but then on the Sunday I got the call to come down. Two women reacted badly to the trials in America, which they obviously discovered it was unrelated.

‘There are two vaccines and they don’t tell you which one you’ve actually had. I probably shouldn’t say any more as they want to keep it slightly under wraps.’

Halt: The tests were temporarily on hold after a volunteer reportedly developed ‘transverse myelitis’ (Andrew pictured taking the test last month)

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BRITISH VOLUNTEER?

There have been several reports about the woman’s state of health since AstraZeneca first announced trials were being paused on September 8.

The drug giant announced studies in the UK, US, South Africa and Brazil had been paused indefinitely while it investigated whether the patient’s illness was connected to the vaccine.

No details about the patient suffering the potential side-effect, or the nature of the reaction, were given in the initial statement, which said: ‘In large trials illnesses will happen by chance but must be independently reviewed to check this carefully.’

Medical news site Stat first reported the pause in the study, while The New York Times quoted a source saying a trial volunteer had transverse myelitis.

Amid rife suspicion, on September 9, Stat News reported AstraZeneca’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, told investors in a conference call that the trial was stopped because the woman had symptoms consistent with transverse myelitis.

Later that day, AstraZeneca said the media reports were ‘incorrect’, and that Mr Soriot had ‘stated that there is no final diagnosis and that there will not be one until more tests are carried out’.

A leaked AstraZeneca report seen by CNN gave details about the 37-year-old woman. The document, which is labelled an ‘initial report’, was sent to doctors running the clinical trials to warn them of the hospitalised British patient.

It described how the study participant ‘had trouble walking, weakness and pain in her arms, and other symptoms’.

Fourteen days after receiving her second dose of the vaccine in late August, the woman ‘experienced confirmed transverse myelitis’, the report allegedly says.

On September 2, while running, the study participant ‘had a trip (not fall) with a jolt.’ The report notes that she did not have any obvious injury to her cervical spine.

The next day, the woman had symptoms including difficulty walking, pain and weakness in her arms, pain and reduced sensation in her torso, a headache and reduced ability to use her hands.

She was hospitalised on September 5, several days prior to the SUSAR sent to doctors, and medical news website Stat said she was due to be discharged on September 9 – a discharge date was never officially confirmed.

The AstraZeneca report mentions twice that the woman was diagnosed with ‘confirmed’ transverse myelitis – which is in contrast to the company’s claims last week that the condition was yet to be confirmed.

The cover sheet on the report, allegedly sent by a contractor hired by AstraZeneca, also described her illness as ‘confirmed’ transverse myelitis.

A neurologist who saw the woman said her case ‘suggested the symptoms were consistent with the diagnosis of transverse myelitis’ and that she had no past history of neurological symptoms or significant illnesses.

But at another point, the report claimed to highlight there was ‘limited information concerning the subject’s relevant medical history.’

The neurologist said the woman’s symptoms started to get better quite rapid ‘considering her illness started only four days ago’.

‘Her symptoms were improving. Her strength and dexterity in her hands was getting better,’ the report said.

Physicians diagnose transverse myelitis by performing a thorough neurological examination. They use tests, such as an MRI and lumbar puncture, to rule out any other problems, such as an injury.

In response to the article in CNN, AstraZeneca said it contained ‘inaccuracies including the diagnosis, which is based on preliminary findings’. But it refused to reveal what they were.

The University of Oxford and the drug company AstraZeneca are currently working on the development of the experimental vaccine called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19.

Thousands of people in the UK, United States, Brazil and South Africa have volunteered to take part in clinical trials.

Human trials of Oxford’s vaccine are still on hold in the US over safety concerns, two weeks after they were first paused. AstraZeneca stopped global trials on September 8 because a British volunteer was hospitalised.

Leaked documents claimed the patient, a 37-year-old woman, suffered from inflammation around the spinal cord, typically triggered by viruses but a potential side effect of other vaccines.

‘We can’t survive unless the government give us some help’: The world-renowned composer appeared on Tuesday’s GMB to insist theatre ‘can’t work’ with social distancing measures

Onboard: The next step in the study involves expanding the trial at a higher dose to thousands more people, which is where Andrew appeared to come into the play

Doctors restarted trials in the UK five days later on September 12 after it was deemed safe to do so by an independent safety review committee and the UK regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. They have also continued in Brazil, India and South Africa.

The next step in the study involves expanding the trial at a higher dose to thousands more people, which is where Andrew appeared to come into the play.

West End shows to return with special coronavirus measures

The Nimax Group, the owner of the Apollo, Duchess, Garrick, Lyric, Palace and Vaudeville theatres, has announced it will welcome patrons back to the West End from October.

The venues will use the following measures:
The audience will be socially distanced with seats removed, giving patrons more legroom.
Patrons will have fill out a health questionnaire before they arrive.
if you feel unwell before the play, Nimax will offer you a refund or a change of date until 10am on the day of the performance.
Temperature checks and masks will be compulsory, with hand sanitation zones around each theatre.
Staff will ensure a one-way system is followed with audience members marshalled to their seats and social distancing queues outside the toilets.
There will also be click-and-collect drinks for audience members to purchase during the interval, to avoid queueing.
Each theatre will also undergo regular deep-cleans.

Andrew explained the negative effects of COVID-19 on the theatre industry, stating: ‘Well I mean I’ve been in theatre for 50 years and never seen anything like it and the stories are really heart-breaking. A really talented viola player I saw the other day is stacking shelves in Morrisons.

‘I don’t think commercial theatre could survive unless the government give us some help, I have noticed in recent years it has been pretty far down the food chain anyway. TV and film get a lot of credit.’

Claiming venues can ‘open completely safely like restaurants’, the Cats star added: ‘Theatre goers are conformist crowd, if they are told to wear a mask and they will wear a mask.

‘Shows will the 3 to 6 months to rehearse. You can’t just put a show out. You have to make sure a cast is safe. It’s vital that we have a target to when we can reopen. Commercial theatre can’t work with social distancing.’

Andrew and fellow stage stars have highlighted the lack of Government guidance for the reopening of theatres, and implore the Government to provide the industry with a date when theatres can reopen without social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Last month, venues were allowed to open for the first time since the start of lockdown, but with a majority of seats remaining empty to ensure strict guidelines, many owners say it is not financially viable.

There has finally been some green shoots of recovery with the owner of the Apollo, Duchess, Garrick, Lyric, Palace and Vaudeville theatres announcing they will welcome audiences again from October.

The Apollo will be the first Nimax Group theatre to return, following seven months of closed doors.

It will open with This is Going to Hurt on October 22, which will run until November 8. The play is written and performed by ex-doctor Adam Kay with the first performance free and for NHS staff only.

However, Nimax has admitted its most popular production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, still needs more work and is expected back at the 1,400-seater Palace Theatre early in the new year.

Theatre-goes will still be able to enjoy favourites such as Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and comedy The Play That Goes Wrong, both returning in November.

Unfortunate: In August, Sir Cameron Mackintosh made 200 staff redundant from his West End theatres in a blow to an industry already on its knees (pictured in 2012)

Nica Burns, chief executive of Nimax, and her team have drawn up a 100-page guide for each of the six theatres to reopen.

The audience will be socially distanced with seats removed, giving patrons more legroom.

You will be able to buy up to six tickets online or on contactless devices available at the theatre. Patrons will also have fill out a health questionnaire before they arrive.

However, if you feel unwell before the play, Nimax will offer you a refund or a change of date until 10am on the day of the performance.

Temperature checks and masks will be compulsory, with hand sanitation zones around each theatre.

Staff will also ensure a one-way system is followed with audience members marshalled to their seats and social distancing queues outside the toilets.

There will also be click-and-collect drinks for audience members to purchase during the interval to avoid queueing, and each theatre will also undergo regular deep-cleans.

Comeback: The owner of the Apollo, Duchess, Garrick (pictured), Lyric, Palace and Vaudeville theatres announced they will welcome audiences from October