hen SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, infiltrates the body, it typically enters through the nose or mouth, then takes root and begins replicating.
But what if it could never get a foothold in the upper airways? That’s the promise of nasal COVID-19 vaccines, which are meant to prevent infection by blocking the virus at its point of entry.
There is not yet a nasal COVID-19 vaccine available in the U.S.—and it’s not clear if or when there will be—but multiple research teams in the U.S., including the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and abroad are working on them. Russian scientists are testing a nasal form of their Sputnik V vaccine in adult volunteers, and researchers in India have gotten approval for a Phase 3 trial.
Many researchers are excited about the prospect of nasal vaccines for COVID-19. “Yes with an exclamation point,” says Troy Randall, an immunologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, when asked if they’re worth exploring.
Read more at TIME.