April 22, 2021 – The three COVID-19 vaccines authorized in the United States are vital to getting the pandemic under control in the near future. But while these vaccines, released by Pfizer-BioNTech, Johnson & Johnson, and Moderna, are highly effective, they come with some challenges. All three require an injection, which can make people with needle phobias extremely hesitant to get the shot. Additionally, side effects including feelings of fever, flu-like symptoms, and arm soreness are common with all three vaccines.
To make the vaccination process simpler and faster, researchers are working to develop the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, namely in pill and nasal spray forms.
Experts say that these next-generation vaccines may make it easier to eradicate the virus.
Several vaccine manufacturers have started initial development of a nasal vaccine spray,” said Dr. Javeed Siddiqui, co-founder and chief medical officer at TeleMed2U.
“Nasal spray vaccine could be available as soon as 2022, however this is highly variable based on clinical efficacy and vaccine effectiveness in clinical trials,” he said.
Siddiqui added that future vaccine generations are anticipated to include activity against variants of the virus.
Of the 13 companies working on a nasal spray vaccine, five are in early clinical trials.