Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Game-Changing COVID-19 Nasal Vaccine Passes Initial Tests

Good news! Smells good to me! To prevent an infection at the point of entry seems to make a lot of sense!

"... they may be a good option for people who are needle-phobic or for children who may be afraid of shots. ..."

"... Since the outbreak of COVID-19, scientists have been exploring the development of mucosal vaccines that can be delivered through the nasal route. Recently, researchers ... have successfully created a live attenuated vaccine for the nose. In a recent study, they detail the unique immune response it elicits. ...
In an effort to combat the virus that causes COVID-19, a research team ... has decided to target the initial point of entry, the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, throat, and lungs. ...
Other live nasal vaccines are currently undergoing development and testing around the world. ...
When a vaccine is injected, it infers immunity primarily in the blood and throughout the entire body. However, this means that the immune system only detects and combats coronaviruses relatively late on in an infection, as they enter the body via the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract. “It is here, therefore, that we need local immunity if we want to intercept a respiratory virus early on,” ..."

From the abstract:
"Vaccines play a critical role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Future control of the pandemic requires improved vaccines with high efficacy against newly emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and the ability to reduce virus transmission. Here we compare immune responses and preclinical efficacy of the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2, the adenovirus-vectored spike vaccine Ad2-spike and the live-attenuated virus vaccine candidate sCPD9 in Syrian hamsters, using both homogeneous and heterologous vaccination regimens. Comparative vaccine efficacy was assessed by employing readouts from virus titrations to single-cell RNA sequencing. Our results show that sCPD9 vaccination elicited the most robust immunity, including rapid viral clearance, reduced tissue damage, fast differentiation of pre-plasmablasts, strong systemic and mucosal humoral responses, and rapid recall of memory T cells from lung tissue after challenge with heterologous SARS-CoV-2. Overall, our results demonstrate that live-attenuated vaccines offer advantages over currently available COVID-19 vaccines."

Game-Changing COVID-19 Nasal Vaccine Passes Initial Tests


Those poor Syrian hamsters! 
Fig. 1: Disease severity following SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated and non-vaccinated hamsters


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