Scientists hope that the nasal spray could increase the uptake of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccination
Scientists plan to test the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine when it’s given using a nasal spray.
The University of Oxford is set to recruit 30 healthy, young volunteers to receive the Covid-19 vaccine through an intranasal spray device, much like those over-the-counter sprays used to minimise hay fever.
Volunteers for the trial will be aged between 18 to 40, it has been reported.
The trial comes after nearly 29 million people have now received their first Covid-19 vaccination.
#COVID19 VACCINE UPDATE: Daily figures on the number of people who have received a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.
As of 25 March, 28,991,188 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.
Visit the @PHE_uk dashboard for more info:
▶️️ https://t.co/cQkuLQglz1 pic.twitter.com/zMxouEaFEc— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) March 25, 2021
The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is currently only being rolled out as an intramuscular injection.
Scientists at Oxford University are convinced that this potential new way of receiving the vaccine could result in more people coming forward to get their jab.
Dr Sandy Douglas, Chief Investigator of the study, said: “Some immunologists believe that delivering the vaccine to the site of infection may achieve enhanced protection, especially against transmission, and mild disease. We hope this small safety-focused study will lay the foundation for future larger studies that are needed to test whether giving the vaccine this way does protect against coronavirus infection.”
“There are a variety of people who will find an intranasal delivery system more appealing, which may mean vaccine uptake is higher in those groups. It might also have practical advantages – nasal sprays have been used successfully for other vaccines, for example the flu vaccine used in UK schools,” he added.
