The vaccines for COVID-19 have proven effective for reducing cases with serious symptoms or those resulting in death.
What they haven't been as great at is preventing transmission of the virus and some researchers say that could be due in part to the fact that the vaccines are delivered through a shot in the arm — not the ideal place when battling a respiratory virus.
Administering protection via a nasal spray, however, places the vaccine in the mucous membranes of the nose, where COVID-19 enters the body most of the time. The spray could also carry the vaccine to the lungs where the virus develops.
- Mark Saltzman, Goizueta Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering; Professor of Cellular & Molecular Physiology; Head, Jonathan Edwards College, Faculty Co-Director, Center for Biomedical Innovation and Technology, Yale University
