Research into intranasal COVID-19 vaccines—absorbed through the lining of the nose—is advancing. In an experiment, researchers from the University of Bern, Switzerland, the University of Siena, Italy, and the University of Oxford, UK, detected increased antibody production (immunoglobulin types A and G) in cells from the spleen, bone marrow, and lungs of mice given a vaccine made with SARS-CoV-2 proteins. The antibodies recognized and neutralized the coronavirus (Allergy, April 11). In another study, carried out at the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico, scientists discovered that another nasal vaccine made with proteins from the novel coronavirus (alone or combined with a subcutaneous vaccine) activated local and systemic antibody production in miniature pigs (Frontiers in Immunology, March 31). Of the 133 vaccines in development and monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO), eight are intranasal. If they move forward, they could confer protection to the nasal lining—the gateway used by the virus—helping to reduce transmission.
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