BETHESDA, Md. - Researchers at the National Institutes of Health said a COVID-19 intranasal vaccine has proven effective in hamsters and monkeys.The team, lead by Dr.
Vincent Munster of NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, tested the Oxford/AstraZeneca nasal spray vaccine and published its results on July 27 in the journal Science Translational Medicine."All COVID-19 vaccines now in use are injected into the muscle," the NIH said in a statement. "Intramuscular injection produces antibodies that circulate in the blood to recognize the virus.
But this route of administration doesn’t necessarily produce antibodies in the nose and nasal passages."Scientists hope an intranasal vaccine will be able to block the coronavirus.