A study shows that nasal corona vaccines could prevent virus transmission. Animal studies have produced clear results.
St. Louis – Even four years after the outbreak of the corona pandemic, research is being carried out into further vaccines. New vaccines are constantly coming onto the market. These often have new features that distinguish them from others. Research is also being carried out into vaccines that are not injected through a needle, but rather enter the body through a nasal spray, for example. Scientists found in a study that such a vaccine appears to be very effective in animals.
Study shows: Nasal corona vaccination could stop transmission
The main task of the corona vaccination is to reduce the number of severe cases of the disease and to protect particularly vulnerable population groups, as the Federal Ministry of Health emphasizes. However, the vaccination has not yet completely stopped the spread of the virus. However, a study by the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with hamsters has shown that this could be possible.
The study, published on July 31 in the journal Science Advances suggests that future generations of vaccines that target the virus’s entry points (nose and mouth) could stop transmission. Researchers tested a nasal COVID-19 vaccine that is already approved in India. The results showed that vaccinated hamsters that became infected did not pass on the virus, thus breaking the transmission cycle.
Studies show: mucosal vaccines are superior to traditional vaccines
However, the injected COVID-19 vaccine could not prevent the spread of the virus in the hamsters. “To prevent transmission, the amount of virus in the upper respiratory tract must be kept low,” explained lead author Dr. Jacco Boon, professor of medicine, molecular microbiology and pathology & immunology, in a press release from the Washington University School of Medicine.
“The less virus there is, the less likely you are to infect others when you cough, sneeze or even just breathe on them,” he added. The study suggests that mucosal vaccines are superior to traditional injected vaccines in “limiting viral replication in the upper respiratory tract and preventing spread to the next person.”
Targeted vaccination: Nasal vaccine could limit virus replication
Traditional injectable vaccines take about a week to take full effect and are less effective in the nose than in the bloodstream. With rapidly spreading viruses such as Sars-CoV-2 or the RS virus, the nose remains relatively unprotected. Vaccines that are sprayed or dripped directly into the nose or mouth could limit viral replication and thus reduce transmission, because the immune response is triggered exactly where it is most needed.
Science relies on further research: “The future of vaccines”
However, it is difficult to find evidence that mucosal vaccines actually reduce transmission. Studies of transmission in animals are not well established and tracking transmission between humans is complex due to the number and variety of daily human encounters.
“Mucosal vaccines are the future of vaccines against respiratory infections,” says the lead author of the study. “The development of such vaccines has always been a challenge in the past,” says Boon. He foresees exciting research in the coming years that could lead to a “major improvement in vaccines against respiratory infections.” (vk)
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