Injected vs Nasal vaccines: Which mode of COVID vaccine will be better in the long run?

The second phase of COVID-19 vaccine roll out has begun in India, which not only includes the young and the healthy but also allows senior citizens above the age of 60 and select people over 45 years of age to get the vaccine jab. While the current mode of COVID vaccines is limited to injected vaccines, prospects of nasal vaccines are also being discussed in and around the world.

Injected or traditional vaccines are injected into the skin with the help of injections (needles). Unlike traditional vaccines, nasal vaccines target the virus present in the mucosal membranes and are given via nose, rather than orally or through the arm.

Usually nasal vaccines are sprayed into the nostrils. It can be done with the help of a syringe with no needle, a nasal spray, liquid medicine or special aerosol delivery.

While the virus commonly enters your body through your nose, the vaccine then intercepts the virus and causes your immune system to make proteins in your blood and in your nose to combat the virus. This also prevents the virus from growing.

Considering most viruses, including the ones associated with SARs-COV-2, enter the body through the mucosa and infect the cells and molecules present in the mucosal membranes, nasal vaccines are seen as an effective solution for the same.

On the contrary, intramuscular vaccines or injected vaccines fail to trigger such immune response from the mucosa and depend on immune cells from other parts of the body.

Apart from that, nasal vaccines are easier to administer and may provide easy immunity. An effective nasal jab can not only protect against COVID-19, but also directly interacts with T-cells that exist in the nose and the throat and targets the immune cells present in the mucosal membrane.

As per Bharat Biotech, their intranasal vaccine candidate, which is soon to enter Phase I clinical trials, has proven effective and is said to provide high levels of protections in mice studies.

Besides providing better immunity prospects, nasal vaccines can be self-administered and have fewer chances of side effects, as per experts.

It is cost effective and requires lesser resources as compared to the number of syringes and transportation cost needed for injected vaccines.

Additionally, there is a lesser chance of our body rejecting the effectiveness of the vaccine, as it can be immediately absorbed by the blood vessels.

On January 8, Bharat Biotech sought permission from the Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) to conduct Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials of the intranasal vaccine. As on Tuesday, the firm received the approval for phase 1 trials and are set to begin the clinical trials by next week. The trials will be conducted in Patna, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Nagpur. According to the Central Trail Registry of India (CTRI) on 175 participants.