Developing a vaccine based on a nasal spray rather than an injection could be an effective way of stopping the spread of coronavirus, a scientist has suggested.
Peter Openshaw, a Government advisor and professor of experimental medicine at Imperial College London, said developing nasal immunizations is the ‘rational way to go’.
“We really need to develop vaccines which are based on say nasal sprays and induce, what we call a mucosal immune response,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme.
“The initial vaccines are given to us as an injection induce a very good response in your bloodstream and also protect the lungs pretty well… in terms of antibodies. But getting a nasal response would be a really good way to develop vaccines in the future.”
Professor Openshaw, who sits on the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said the aim of a nasal vaccine would be to stop ‘replication in the nose and therefore prevent spread’.
