Nasal Covid Vaccine

Nasal Covid Vaccine

News: India gets its first nasal covid vaccine.

GS Paper 3: Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life; Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology; Indigenization of Technology and Developing New Technology.

About India’s first intra-nasal vaccine for COVID-19:

  • It will be India’s first intra-nasal vaccine that will be delivered through the nose instead of a shot in the arm. 
  • Product name  of the vaccine is iNCOVACC and it is Bharat Biotech’s ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored).
  • Country’s apex drug regulator body  Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)has given approval to the vaccine for emergency use in adults. 
  • Bharat Biotech has developed the vaccine with technology in-licensed from Washington University-St Louis.
  • Vaccine  has been approved for primary immunisation ( it can be given to the unimmunised to protect against Covid-19).
  • So far, intranasal vaccination is being used only for influenza but with this addition intranasal vaccine can also be used for COVID-19.
  • Bharat Biotech vaccine rides on an adenovirus vector.

Bharat Biotech’s statement on  iNCOVACC: 

  • iNCOVACC is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein.
  • Evaluation of iNCOVACC in Phase-I, II and III clinical trials has showed  the successful efficiency of  intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops.
  • Bharat Biotech in its statement said that nasal delivery system will be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries.

Trials for Booster:

  • Company’s trial found the vaccine to be “safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic” when compared to its own Covaxin in a phase III trial of nearly 3,100 participants across 14 sites in India.
  • The company has also conducted a trial with 875 participants to see whether the vaccine may be used as a booster in those who have received Covaxin or Covishield as their primary vaccine.

 Benefits of nasal vaccines over conventional vaccines: 

  • No need for needles and syringes that is currently required for Covid-19 vaccine as the vaccine being delivered through a nasal spray. 
  • Dependency on trained personnel to give shots will get reduced and hence pave way for efficient distribution.
  • Nasal vaccine  triggers an immune response in the mucosal membrane: Bharat Biotech’s intranasal Covid vaccine (BBV154) produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract which may provide the  potential to reduce infection and transmission.
  • Pave way  for  efficient distribution and easy administration of COVID-19 Vaccination: As  iNCOVACC is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution. 
  • iNCOVACC enables mass immunisation through easy nasal delivery. Hence, it become  an important tool in mass vaccinations during pandemics and endemics.
  • It protects from emerging variants of concern by enabling faster development of variant-specific vaccines.

Studies in support of Nasal Vaccine for COVID-19:

  • Science Direct study showed the pre-clinical efficacy of nasal COVID-19 lentiviral vector vaccine. The Authors of the study said that targeting the immune response to the upper respiratory tract and intranasal vaccination provides critical protection, and induces protective mucosal immunity against the SARS-CoV-2 in rodents. A safe and efficacious nasal vaccine is well-placed to target the literal entry point of the virus into the body as SARS-CoV-2 virus shows a proclivity to dwell in the upper respiratory tract for a prolonged period of time.
  • Researchers at Lancaster University working with the Biomedical Research Institute in Texas claimed that  administering  two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine via a nasal spray in animals  had elicited robust antibodies and T-cell responses that were enough  to neutralise SARS-CoV-2.

Studies that are apprehensive  about  suitability of  nasal vaccine for COVID-19:

  • A study from  Washington University found that while a COVID-19 vaccine injection (at that stage) induced an immune response that prevented pneumonia, it did not prevent infection in the nose and lungs. Such a vaccine might reduce the severity of COVID-19, but it could not prevent infected individuals from spreading the virus, said the study.

Sources:-Indian Express; The Hindu

Source Link:-

  1. The Hindu:-https://bit.ly/3KZbZdj ; https://bit.ly/3L3BCti
  2. Indian Express:-bit.ly/3B50fkN

Yojna IAS Daily current affairs eng med 7th Sep

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