In a major blow, the initial test of nasal-spray version According to the news agency Reuters, the Kovid-19 vaccine developed on humans by researchers from Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc did not get the desired protection.
The University of Oxford said in an official statement that antibody responses to respiratory mucous membranes were observed in only a minority of participants in the trial, which was typically in the first three phases of the clinical trial.
In addition, it has also been shown that the immune response measured in blood was weaker than shot-in-the-arm vaccination, according to the statement cited by Reuters.
However, researchers around the world had high hopes for the nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine because the method is believed to potentially prevent infection, not just disease because it can directly prompt an immune response in the airways. where the virus enters the body.
Additionally, this method will also be less painful and easier to handle than injections.
Meanwhile, regulators in India and China have already approved products that are administered through the airways.
Last month, India’s health minister approved Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine, while China’s CanSino Biologics Inc received emergency approval by the country’s drug regulator for an inhaled version of its COVID-19 vaccine.
CanSino has said that studies indicate that its vaccine, delivered via a nebulizer device, can induce strong immunity to effectively prevent infection, while India’s trial results have yet to be published. .
The British trial enrolled 30 previously unvaccinated participants as well as 12 volunteers who had previously received a standard two-dose vaccine course by injection.
“The nasal spray in this study did not perform as well as we had expected,” said lead investigator Sandy Douglas of the trial at the Jenner Institute at Oxford University.
“We believe that the delivery of vaccines to the nose and lungs is a promising approach, but this study suggests that there is likely to be a challenge in making the nasal spray a reliable alternative,” she said.
No serious adverse events or safety concerns were reported during the trial, which was funded by astraZenecaStatement added.
(with Reuters inputs)
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