- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has said that intra-nasal vaccines will be far easier to deliver than intra muscular injections.
- Inhaled vaccine makers are counting on some of the unique features of the lungs, nose and throat, which are lined with mucosa.
Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar Shaw has commented that intra-nasal coronavirus vaccines will be far easier to deliver than intra-muscular injections, reports Live Mint.
These inoculations are administered in a single dose through the nose by spraying or squirting the solution into a person’s nostrils instead of injecting it.
Game changer for COVID-19 testing
Shaw stated that the new nasal vaccine can be a game-changer for COVID-19 testing, Shaw tweeted that these inoculations will be “far easier to deliver than intra muscular injections.”
She added that “Asha workers can be trained to deliver it at a mass scale, unlike IM (intra-muscular) injections which will need nurses, doctors and MBBS students which is a challenge.”
Indeed intra-nasal vaccines will be far easier to deliver than intra muscular injections n Asha workers can be trained to deliver it at mass scale unlike IM injections which will need nurses, doctors n MBBS students which is a challenge https://t.co/baZIlIrvi5
— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 26, 2020
Needle reusal can be avoided
The nasal vaccine, which is in the works under a partnership between Washington University in St Louis, USA, and Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Ltd (BBIL), can revolutionise Indian vaccine making capabilities and help the country leapfrog along with Europe, the US, and China.
The Biocon chief further stated that intra-nasal vaccines “will eliminate the huge risk of reusing needles in IM vaccines that can cause HepC, HIV infections which can cause a bigger health catastrophe than COVID-19.”
Intra-nasal vaccines will eliminate the huge risk of reusing needles in IM vaccines that can cause HepC, HIV infections which can cause a bigger health catastrophe than Covid19 https://t.co/baZIlIrvi5
— Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (@kiranshaw) October 26, 2020
Intra nasal vaccines
Scientists are hoping to produce superior immune responses with nasal vaccines that are said to have numerous advantages over intramuscular shots that are injected into the muscles.
- The vaccines that are sprayed into the nose or inhaled directly target the airway cells invaded by the virus. They cut down on the need for needles, syringes, or alcohol swabs.
- These vaccines also need not be stored and shipped at low temperatures thereby reducing the need for healthcare workers to administer them, and can be used by a person himself/herself just like a regular nasal spray.
Researchers across the globe are pacing to come up with a vaccine against coronavirus, which has claimed over 1.1 million lives globally. Several vaccine candidates are being tested in numerous human clinical trials that are currently underway.
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Source: Live Mint
