A nasal vaccine is a

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

administered to a person via the nose and does not require a needle. It induces immunity through the inner surface of the nose, a surface that naturally comes in contact with many airborne microbes.

Administration

Administering a vaccine via the nose is painless, non-invasive and easier to perform than using a needle, which has risks of needle stick injuries and issues relating to safe disposal.

Nasal vaccine technology

A few different devices have become available for the nasal delivery of vaccines.

Live attenuated influenza vaccine

Nasal live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) is available under the brand name FluMist Quadrivalent in the United States and the brand name Fluenz Tetra in Europe. In addition to the antigens (active ingredient), nasal flu vaccine contains

gelatin Gelatin or gelatine (from la, gelatus meaning "stiff" or "frozen") is a translucent, colorless, flavorless food ingredient, commonly derived from collagen taken from animal body parts. It is brittle when dry and rubbery when moist. It may also ...

, small amounts of

amino acids Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

and

sucrose Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula . For human consumption, sucrose is extracted and refined ...

, which act as stabilizers.

Veterinary medicine

In veterinary medicine, vaccination against ''

Bordetella bronchiseptica ''Bordetella bronchiseptica'' is a small, gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus ''Bordetella''. It can cause infectious bronchitis in dogs and other animals, but rarely infects humans. Closely related to '' B. pertussis''—the obl ...

'', a cause of

kennel cough Kennel cough, also known as canine infectious respiratory disease, formally canine infectious tracheobronchitis, is an upper respiratory infection affecting dogs. There are multiple causative agents, the most common being the bacterium ''Bordete ...

, can be delivered by the nasal route in dogs.

History

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

, in the 17th century, claimed that to protect his entire family and army from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

he had them all inoculated, a procedure described in manuals of the time as involving the technique of "blowing smallpox material up the nose" or insufflation. The material used varied from ground-up dry scabs to fluid collected from a pustule. The

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

of 2001 and the subsequent

anthrax attacks The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "America" and " anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 ...

stimulated interest in vaccines that could be stored and stockpiled, including developments in a nasal vaccine for

anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...

Research on nasal vaccine candidates for COVID-19

In an experiment in 2004, a nasal vaccine was given to four

African green monkey ''Chlorocebus'' is a genus of medium-sized primates from the family of Old World monkeys. Six species are currently recognized, although some people classify them all as a single species with numerous subspecies. Either way, they make up the ent ...

s in the search for a vaccine for SARS-CoV. In August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, studies in mice and monkeys demonstrated that protection from the Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, new coronavirus might be obtained through the nasal route. Another study postulated that if a COVID-19 vaccine could be given by a spray in the nose, people might be able to vaccinate themselves. In September 2022, India and China approved first nasal COVID-19 vaccine#Intranasal, COVID-19 vaccines which may (as boosters) also reduce transmission (potentially via sterilizing immunity). Meanwhile, scientists in the United States encountered bureaucratic obstacles in their efforts to develop nasal vaccines for COVID-19.

References

{{Reflist Vaccination Drug delivery devices