Scientists hopeful of COVID-19 vaccine without a needle

People may soon be able to get their COVID-19 vaccine without a needle.

Clinical trials are underway for a nasal COVID-19 vaccine, which scientists believe could muster a wall of immunity right where viruses find their foothold, ultimately blocking the spread of the virus, preventing even mild infections.

Three of the 8 nasal vaccines in clinical development are in phase three trial with scientists banking on them as a game-changer for the pandemic.

If the clinical trials by scientists across the world are anything to go by, then the COVID-19 jab will soon change into a sniff.

Scientists now want to deliver inoculations to the site where the virus first makes contact; the nose, blocking infections entirely.

Experts have likened the mucosal vaccines to putting a guard at the front door, as opposed to waiting until the invader is already inside to attack as seen in the COVID-19 jabs.

According to Dr. Willis Akhwale, the nasal vaccines could really help given that a majority of people fear the needle.

He adds: “Nasal sprays will still get into the blood. It is not so much the source of infection but the body reacting to something called an antigen. We welcome innovation and will depend on the World Health Organisation recommendations.”

Dr. Githinji Gitahi, the global CEO at Amref Health Africa, also agrees stating: “Concerns are many, including sneezing as well as inability to penetrate the mucosa. But there is guarded optimism as there is no existing successful spray vaccine.”

Nasal vaccines are not a new idea, but they are far less tried and have stumbled over the years because scientists know little about the machinations of mucosal immunity.

Flumist, the influenza fighter that’s the only one ever to make it to market since its debut in 2003, failed to live up to predictions.

Regulators fearing that the safety mechanism might fail in the elderly, have been reluctant to recommend it to anyone older than 50, the biggest chunk of the flu vaccine market.

In Switzerland, a similar vaccine introduced to the Swiss market in October 2000 as the first licensed intranasal influenza vaccine in the world was linked to cases of facial paralysis.

Many nasal vaccines depend on live or weakened viruses, which may limit their use in people who are immune-compromised or pregnant. Safety will be scrutinised, because the nose is so close to the brain.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), at least nine labs and companies around the world are developing the nasal vaccines; three are in phase 3 clinical trials, where they are being tested in large groups of people.

The universities of Oxford, Yale and India’s Bharat Biotech are among those companies.

Two years into the pandemic and COVID-19 continues its marathon.

Scientists are racing against further lethal virus mutations to create nasal vaccines that will have to compete against highly effective vaccines that trigger strong protection against severe illness.