The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization of the Ministry of Health has approved COVID-19 recombinant nasal vaccine for primary immunisation of persons aged 18 and above in emergency situations. Mansukh Mandaviya, the health minister, posted the information on Twitter.
Vaccines are typically administered by a variety of ways, with the most popular being intramuscular injections into the muscles or the tissue immediately next to the muscles (subcutaneous). There are alternative administration methods as well, including giving the liquid solution orally rather than intravenously for some vaccines, particularly those for babies. The vaccine is sprayed into the nostrils and inhaled when administered intranasally.
Numerous viruses, including the coronavirus, enter the body through mucosa, the moist, spongy tissues that border the nose, mouth, lungs, and digestive system. This causes these cells and molecules to mount a special immune response.
According to experts, an intranasal vaccine can fight against the virus even before it tries to cross the body’s protective barrier. Instead, because they rely on immune cells that have been mobilised from elsewhere in the body to swarm to the site of infection, intramuscular vaccinations typically fail to trigger this mucosal response.
Vaccines cause a blood reaction in the case of both delivery methods.
For instance, B cells would produce antibodies, including the powerful disease-fighter IgG, to scour the body for the virus. T cells are additional cells that either assist B cells in producing antibodies or actively seek out and eliminate the infected cells.
However, vaccinations administered by injection into the nose or mouth also reach a different group of immune cells that linger near mucosal tissues. A different form of antibody termed IgA, which is produced by the local B cells, is crucial in eliminating the airway pathogens. Additionally, the T cells in the area will be able to memorise the diseases it encountered and will scour the areas where they were originally encountered for the rest of their lives.
By eliminating the need for needles and syringes, these vaccines seek to minimise the cost of mass vaccination while overcoming any potential challenges. Experts predict that intranasal vaccines will reduce the need for different qualified persons to give the vaccine.
Experts, including vaccine scientist Dr. Gagandeep Kang, believe that a nasal vaccine has a likelihood of lower safety events because “it is going into a mucosal surface, it will likely be restricted.” “One attraction with the intranasal vaccine is that it’s very simple to use — you just squirt it into your nose — and it’s something that can be self-administered in pandemics and outbreaks.”
Experts contend that, aside from particular flu vaccines, there is not enough evidence to support the efficacy of this method of distribution, and previous attempts to do so have failed.
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