YOUR HEALTH: COVID-19 vaccine nasal drops

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (IVANHOE NEWSWIRE) - Getting immunized from COVID-19 could soon be as simple as using nasal spray.

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are working on nasal drops that could be key to stopping the transmission of the virus before it enters the body.

There are two main advantages of a nasal spray instead of a shot in the arm. There are no needles involved, and nasal spray triggers an immune response in the nose and upper airway.

“A systemic injection, like mRNA, will augment antibodies in the blood, not so much in the lung. Airway vaccination, nasal vaccination, augments antibodies in the nose and airways. And that’s a better defense,” says Dr. David Curiel, an oncologist at Washington University in St. Louis.

Without using mRNA, researchers are targeting fiber proteins in the virus.

“We’re trying to engineer these proteins so that we can infect the nose even better than our present vaccine,” Dr. Curiel explained.

The nasal drop vaccine is also quickly adaptable, so it can be quickly modified to match new variants that emerge of the COVID-19 virus.

The nasal drops are already being manufactured in India, Europe, and Japan and should be ready to be presented to the FDA in the United States by the end of 2023.

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