Since there are many more spray vaccines in development around the world, and China and India have recently approved an inhaled version of a COVID-19 vaccine for use as a booster dose, it has tremendous potential to change the dynamics of the pandemic. While data from well-controlled clinical trials are still pending, people are wondering whether spray vaccines could be the future of COVID-19 vaccines or not.
Since COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, it is very reasonable to believe that these vaccines could prime immune cells in the thin mucous membranes that line cavities in the nose and mouth where SARS-CoV-2 enters the body, and quickly stop the virus before it spreads. While scientists hope that these vaccines administered through the nose or mouth will potentially prevent even mild cases of illness and block transmission to other people, achieving what’s known as sterilizing immunity; several pertaining questions like why might mucosal vaccines be better than conventional shots, how good are mucosal vaccines against other diseases, where/when might mucosal COVID-19 vaccines be available, can mucosal COVID-19 vaccines induce sterilizing immunity, how are researchers measuring the efficacy of mucosal vaccines in people and more are waiting for answers through a well-controlled trial.
Comments