Professor Sheena Cruickshank writes in The Conversation about the potential of inhalable and nasal vaccines to offer more durable protection against COVID-19 than regular shots.

While conventional needle-in-your-arm vaccines induce a more systemic immune response, mucosal vaccines do something different. Viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 enter our systems via our nose and mouth when we breathe in small virus-containing droplets. This means immunity in our nose, mouth, and throat really matters to stop infections.

 

Mucosal vaccines are designed to target this “mucosal immune system”. The mucosal immune system has the potential to stop the virus in its tracks when it enters the body, so scientists predict that mucosal vaccines could prevent infection.

You can read the full article here

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