Administering a vaccine as a nasal spray is nothing radically new. When vaccinating children against influenza, for example, a nasal spray vaccine is often used these days. Could a nasal spray vaccine soon catch the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus right at the port of entry - i.e., our nasal mucosa?
COVID-19 Vaccines Current.
The COVID-19 vaccines currently licensed in our country are classically injected into the muscle. They are very good at protecting against severe courses, lowering the risk of dying from COVID-19 and also lowering the risk of developing Long COVID.
State of Research on Nasal Corona Vaccination.
There are over a hundred COVID-19 vaccines in development worldwide, to be administered as a nasal spray, as nasal drops, or as an inhaler. Some countries - China, India, Russia, and Iran - have already approved nasal spray vaccines against COVID-19, but without making the associated scientific data public.
It is considered unlikely that these vaccines could come to us anytime soon. It will take even longer, perhaps even years, until approval is granted. Not least because the standards for safety and transparency are much higher in Austria.
Learn more about the topic in our YouTube video with molecular biologist and science communicator Martin Moder.
Video:
Sources:
Nasal spray flu vaccine:
https://impfservice.wien/influenza/
Covid-19 nasal spray vaccine in mice:
https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.24.477597
Covid-19 nasal spray vaccine in rhesus monkeys:
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.05.21.492923v1
Review article Nasal spray vaccines:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-02824-3
Photo:
©BKA/Zillbauer
Martin Moder, PhD, molecular biologist
