The potential benefits of an 'intranasal' COVID vaccine


Get those tissues ready.
A COVID-19 vaccine that's nasally administered — rather than shot into the arm — could provide heightened upper respiratory protection, Stat News reported Tuesday.
Intramuscular injections are still a "spectacular" line of defense, Stat writes, but they do not provide the "sterilizing immunity" needed to block all infection in nasal passages. Of course, like any vaccine, one that's nasally-administered is unlikely to block all COVID infection, but experts say it could do a "better job" than existing ones "by better protecting mucus membranes of the nose and throat."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Moreover, an intranasal vaccine wouldn't require a syringe, cutting both cost and medical waste, nor would it likely necessitate an administering health care professional, writes Stat. Plus, an intranasal inoculation is usually easier to offer to young kids and those with a fear of needles.
All that said, the development of such a tool might be far off. It's not yet clear if the mRNA vaccines could be reformulated, and an intranasal candidate is likely to be a "next, next, next-gen vaccine," adds Florian Krammer, a vaccinologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. Funding is reportedly also an issue.
"It may be possible but would take a lot of work and may require some new innovations," said Barney Graham, who led the team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that designed the Moderna vaccine. "There are other groups working on it."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
June 29 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the AI genie, Iran saving face, and bad language bombs
-
A tall ship adventure in the Mediterranean
The Week Recommends Sailing aboard this schooner and exploring Portugal, Spain and Monaco is a 'magical' experience
-
How drone warfare works
The Explainer From Ukraine to Iran, it has become clear that unmanned aircraft are rapidly revolutionising modern warfare
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 years
Speed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study finds
Speed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves baby
speed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beat
speed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammals
Speed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its prey
Speed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
-
Katy Perry, Gayle King visit space on Bezos rocket
Speed Read Six well-known women went into lower orbit for 11 minutes