Swiss and German virologists raise hopes of nasal coronavirus vaccine

The idea is to introduce immunity at the point where the virus attacks us -- the mucous membranes of the nose. Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

Swiss and German virologists working on a nasal vaccine for Covid-19 say such a technique could be much more effective against the virus, Swiss public broadcaster SRF reports on Friday.

The ideal 100% immunity is almost impossible to achieve with viruses that attack the mucous membrane, University of Bern virus researcher Volker Thiehl told SRF. But he said an improvement was certainly achievable “if the immunity is not somewhere in the body, but on the spot, where the virus tries to infect us”.

For Covid-19 this means the mucous membranes of the nose. “The virus would be stopped right there,” he told SRF. “Then Corona would become a simple and mild infection, like a cold.”

Thiel is working with colleagues in Germany and Switzerland to develop a nasal vaccine. The project was launched in 2020 and is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. He says the main component of the nasal vaccine is to be attenuated corona viruses, and he has tried many different ways to attenuate the viruses. “Two of them work very well as vaccines in animals. We now want to approach phase 1 trials in humans.”

Phase 1 involves testing the safety of the vaccine in a small number of people. That will be followed by additional phases of studies with more and more subjects. These studies are expensive, however, and private investors are needed.

SRF reports that Basel-based company RocketVax is already involved, but the project needs more financial partners. Vaccines are unlikely to be available for another one or two years, it says.