Several vaccines against Covid-19 are used worldwide. However, the famous sting could well be dethroned by a completely different device: the nasal vaccine. In pre-clinical studies, French researchers have tested a product to be administered directly into the nostrils the results are very positive.
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How does the nasal vaccine against Covid-19 work?
BioMAP researchers from INRAE-Université de Tours Infectiologie et Santé Publique, France, a 100% French team, recently filed a patent for their nasally administered vaccine candidate. It is no coincidence that this particular path was chosen by scientists. A pathogen, such as a virus, infiltrates the body through the nasal mucous membranes. The latter is therefore the gateway to Sars-Cov-2, but also the place in which it proliferates. The nasal vaccine is able to prevent the virus from being present in the nose by inducing an immune reaction directly in the mucous membranes. The process is not new, since the mucous vaccine technology has already been tested in the laboratory monkeys, in particular, to protect them from toxoplasmosis. In the case of the coronavirus, the product is composed of proteins, in this case, the Spike protein, encapsulated in nanoparticles containing starch and lipids. This envelope is biotechnology called Vaxinano.
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Thus, according to the statement issued by the Institute, the vaccine "would make it possible to be protected, regardless of viral mutations and the circulating strain of coronavirus." Concretely, unlike a vaccine administered intramuscularly, the mucous vaccine is equipped with a "small adapter placed at the end of a syringe without a needle allowing an ideal diffusion within the nasal cavity." However, this device could evolve into a nasal spray. This vaccine has many advantages since it is non-invasive, easy to use and can serve as a first dose as well as a booster dose.
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Encouraging pre-clinical studies
For the time being, the nasal vaccine has only been tested in vivo on a Syrian hamster model. Two nasal administrations were performed, spaced three weeks apart. The results are rather promising since the product induced a strong immune response in the cavities and lungs, not only against Sars-Cov-2 but also against all variants. The vaccine is very effective, because "after vaccination and infection, 100% of individuals survived, and no clinical signs (respiratory distress, weight loss...) was not observed. On the other hand, the product has an impact on contagion, because no trace of the virus has been found in the vaccinated animal, neither in the nasal cavities nor in the lungs: "These results [...] make it possible to conclude that contagiousness between individuals has been completely eliminated. In other words, the animal vaccinated with nasal serum and contaminated with Sars-Cov-2 does not transmit the virus.
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To summarize
the mucous vaccine allows you to:
- trigger an early immune response against the original virus and its variants;
- Prevent the transmission of the virus.
Clinical trials are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2022, with a market launch in 2023. Starting in the fall of 2021, batches of vaccines will be developed and produced in order to be ready for the start of the trials.
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