Researchers say intranasal vaccine could be easily used in developing countries
Updated: 8:35 AM EDT Aug 16, 2023
Play Video LEBANON, N.H. —
Researchers at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center are part of a team working to develop the first nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine on the market.
Dartmouth Health officials said the vaccine will not require refrigeration and won’t need to be administered by a medical professional, so it could be easily distributed in developing parts of the world. Advertisement
Intranasal vaccines have been used to protect against other viruses, such as measles and rubella.
“Although unique in the COVID field, the vaccine has precedent in the highly successful prevention of adenovirus respiratory disease in the United States military,” said Dr. Peter Wright, an infectious disease and international health physician who’s leading the effort.
The work is being undertaken in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and Exothera, a viral vector manufacturer based in Belgium. DHMC is the sole research and development site for the vaccine, and clinical trials are planned in the U.S. and Africa.
China has developed a nasal vaccine that’s used as a booster dose, and other intranasal vaccines have been under development.
Dartmouth Health officials said injectable COVID-19 vaccines were developed quickly, but it was difficult for low- and lower-middle-income countries to fully protect their populations during the initial vaccine rollouts. Researchers said an intranasal vaccine could be more easily distributed, comparing it to oral drops that are used around the world to deliver polio vaccines.
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