Nasal spray vaccine: the breakthrough against the coronavirus? Human trials are underway

A coronavirus vaccine in the form of a nasal spray is being tested and may be more effective against the infection

tio20ch Switzerland – 9 September 2020

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) today announced the approval for clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine to be administered as a nasal spray, developed jointly by the university's Department of Microbiology and various academic institutions in mainland China .

The State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Xiamen University and Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy also worked on the vaccine.

It is the first COVID-19 vaccine to be administered as a nasal spray approved by China's National Medical Products Administration for clinical trials in humans.

In a statement, the University of Hong Kong said the vaccine strategy used to develop it has been selected by China's Ministry of Science and Technology as one of five vaccine technologies for further evaluation.

Note: The spray vaccine contains a weakened flu virus that carries the genetic segments of the coronavirus spike protein. Administered through the nasal tract, it mimics the natural infection of respiratory viruses to stimulate the body's immune response against the pathogen that causes Covid-19. According to some experts it could be more effective than the injection. In fact, the vaccine injected into the arm would not be as effective in eliciting the mucosal response instead having to rely on immune cells mobilizing from other parts of the body.

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HKU State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases co-developed
COVID-19 vaccine candidate approved for clinical trial in humans