“Infections in the upper respiratory tract tend to be non-severe. In the context of infections caused by viruses like influenza or SARS-CoV-2, it tends to be when the virus gets deep into the lung that it makes you sick,” explains Matthew Miller, a co-author of the study who holds the Canada Research Chair in Viral Pandemics at McMaster University.

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The immune response you generate when you deliver the vaccine deep into the lung is much stronger than when you only deposit that material in the nose and throat because of the anatomy and nature of the tissue and the immune cells that are available to respond are very different.

This study for the first time provides strong preclinical evidence to support the development of inhaled aerosol delivery over nasal spray for human vaccination against respiratory infections including TB, COVID-19 and influenza.

More than 6.3 million people died during the COVID-19 pandemic, and respiratory infections remain a significant cause of illness and death throughout the world, driving an urgent and renewed worldwide effort to develop vaccines that can be delivered directly to the mucous lining of the respiratory tract.

Scientists at McMaster have developed a unique inhaled form of COVID-19 vaccine, and believe this deep-delivery method offers the best defense against the current and future pandemics.

A Phase 1 clinical trial is currently underway to evaluate the inhaled aerosol vaccine in healthy adults who had previously received two or three doses of an injected COVID-19 mRNA vaccine.

Source: Medindia