Covid-19 nasal spray more effective than mRNA vaccination according to study
Published: Tuesday, Feb 27th 2024, 15:10
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A nasal spray for vaccination against Covid-19 has proven to be clearly more effective in animal experiments than the mRNA vaccines administered in muscles. The study provides "convincing evidence of the superiority" of a live attenuated vaccine administered via the nose in preventing Sars-CoV-2 transmission, Freie Universität Berlin announced on Tuesday.
The Berlin researchers, who have been working on an alternative vaccine for some time, compared the effectiveness of the nasal spray vaccine with the mRNA vaccine Comirnaty in the study with hamsters. This was a joint project of the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the German Research Foundation (DFG).
Vaccines to be administered in muscles therefore only have a limited ability to trigger robust immune reactions in the upper respiratory tract via the mucous membranes. However, these are the portal of entry for the virus. The live vaccine also contains all the virus components and not just the spike protein, as is the case with the mRNA vaccine.
Old principle
The preclinical study with infected and vaccinated hamsters confirmed the superiority of the nasal spray vaccine in preventing virus transmission. The experts spoke of a "further milestone" in research into vaccination alternatives against Covid-19 and the various virus variants.
"Our results provide convincing evidence for the benefits of locally administered live attenuated vaccines over intramuscularly administered mRNA vaccines," explained virologist Jakob Trimpert, one of the lead authors of the study.
The principle of live attenuated vaccines is old and is used for measles and rubella vaccinations, for example.
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