Nasal vaccines could provide better protection against infection by bolstering immunity right where the virus enters the body, but few have made it to human trials in the U.S.
The vaccine, developed by a startup called Blue Lake Biotechnology Inc., was found to reduce the risk of symptomatic Covid infections by 86% for three months in people who received it as a booster dose. Existing booster shots in the United States reduce symptomatic infections by 43% in people 18 to 49 over one to two months, according to a study published in November by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The results from the clinical trial offer an early but tantalizing glimpse at how a next-generation Covid vaccine could be more effective at stopping the coronavirus in its tracks.
Scientists have said nasal vaccines could provide better protection against Covid compared to those that are injected into the arm.
Because these vaccines are sprayed in the nose, they are thought to more readily jump-start the immune system against respiratory viruses. Essentially, nasal vaccines bolster immune protection right where the virus enters the body, setting up a more targeted line of defense.
Nasal Covid vaccines have been approved in India, Iran and Russia, and two others are in use in China, along with an inhalable version that was approved in September for use as a booster. But, few details of their efficacy have been publicly released so far.
“The side effects from other vaccines may have discouraged some people from getting it, but in the testing we’ve done so far, our vaccine was very well tolerated,” he said.
The researchers are hoping to begin the next phase of clinical trials soon, He said, and are aiming to expand the study to include around 400 participants in the U.S. and Europe.
He said he hopes more positive results will spur additional funding to develop and test nasal vaccines — not just for Covid, but also other diseases.
If the current pace of vaccine development is any indication, there's reason for optimism, Goldman-Israelow said.
“Despite a huge anti-vaccine front, there’s also a lot of people who really want vaccines and want protection,” he said. “There seems to be people interested in this type of stuff and would like vaccines to work even better, and I believe there’s potential for them to work better.”
CORRECTION (Feb. 24, 2023, 5:06 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misstated the results of the CDC study on mRNA boosters. It was 43% effective in people ages 18 to 49 over one to two months, not in people ages 65 and younger over three months.