All You Need to Know About the Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine that India Has Approved

India received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization on September 6, 2022, for the first nasal COVID-19 vaccination ever. In an emergency, it is made available with restrictions in order to help people build up their first line of defense against the coronavirus sickness. The nasal COVID-19 vaccine, created by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the University of Washington, differs from existing vaccines in that it works to battle coronavirus by eradicating the illness. Only adults aged 18 and older are eligible to get the iNCOVACC vaccine. We’ll explore if the recently created intranasal COVID-19 booster shot can fundamentally alter the fight against coronavirus.

An overview of the nasal COVID vaccine

Subcutaneous administration of vaccines is the most typical method (between the skin and the muscles). All of the COVID-19 vaccinations that have been licensed up to this point have been administered subcutaneously, frequently by injection into the upper arm, but nasal administration avoids this problem. A COVID-19 nasal vaccination or nasal spray is given to a person through the nose without the use of needles.

It makes sense to combat the virus at its entry locations because COVID-19 is an infectious disease and the virus enters the body through the mucosa (wet, squishy tissues that line the nose, mouth, lungs, and digestive tract). In order to prevent the virus in the mucosal region from inducing an immune response from cells and molecules there, scientists have developed this intranasal vaccination.

The new nasal vaccine in India is administered as drops in the nose. For those who have not received vaccinations, it will currently be given as a two-dose primary series rather than a booster shot. Now it is authorized as a booster dose.

How Effective Is the COVID-19 Nasal Vaccine?

You must first comprehend how widely used subcutaneous vaccines operate before you can comprehend how nasal vaccines operate.

Intramuscular injections of Covishield or Covaxin, for example, trigger an immune response that activates immune cells like T cells and B cells, which produce antibodies that neutralize pathogens by binding to them and preventing them from entering healthy cells, and T cells, which destroy infected cells. These antibodies and cells travel throughout the bloodstream to stop the spread of illness. However, the mucosal region lacks sufficient numbers of these cells to quickly offer protection. Since the virus spreads quickly, the person is already infected by the time these cells get to the virus’ entry sites.

Nasal vaccinations are said to be more effective at that time. Because the vaccine is injected through the nose, where the virus enters the body for the first time, it has the power to prevent infection, break the chain of transmission, and stop lung damage, as well as other negative effects. 

Nasal vaccinations can also activate immune cells that linger near mucosal tissues in addition to T cells and B cells. There, B cells produce IgA, another type of antibody that is essential for eliminating infections in the airways. Additionally, the neighboring T cells will be able to recall the infections they came into contact with and will keep scouting the region where they were first discovered.

Benefits of COVID-19 Nasal Vaccines

These vaccines may prove to be game-changers in the fight against coronavirus, say specialists. The following are some of the primary attributes and advantages of the nasal coronavirus vaccine:

  • By doing away with the need for needles and syringes, it can avoid some of the potential issues with mass immunization while also being less expensive.
  • There will not be a reliance on qualified healthcare professionals because an intranasal injection for COVID-19 can be administered by any nurse, doctor, or even by the patient themselves.
  • Low- and middle-income persons can readily use it because it is affordable.
  • The nasal vaccine is very compliant and works well for both adults and children.
  • This vaccination is simple to travel and store because it can be kept safely in a refrigerator and doesn’t need any special equipment.
  • Just a drop into the nose is all that is required to administer this vaccine. Even those who are needle-phobic can take the vaccine without experiencing any dread.
  • Additionally, it will work for fresh covid variations. This is due to how quickly and easily the vaccine’s design may be modified by simply replacing the existing spike protein with one from a new variation.
  • The vaccine’s production can be scaled up to suit the rising demand on a global scale.

The nasal vaccine’s primary goal, according to the scientists who developed it, is to lessen infection. They contend that the probability of creating new COVID variations increases with the number of individuals the virus infects, keeping the pandemic alive. So, the best method to protect them is to stop the virus from spreading and break the cycle of transmission.