AstraZeneca-Oxford nasal vaccine for COVID-19 performs poorly in clinical trials

AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered as a nasal spray has seen disappointing results during its first clinical trials. Due to poor performance, the scientists may be looking to scrap the nasal spray and change the drug to be delivered through other systems like nebulisers. The results of the trial were published in the journal eBioMedicine.

“The nasal spray did not perform as well in this study as we had hoped. The delivery of vaccines to the nose and lungs remains a promising approach, but this study suggests there are likely to be challenged in making nasal sprays a reliable option,” explained Dr Sandy Douglas, the chief investigator for the clinical trial.

The trial involved 30 individuals not previously vaccinated against COVID-19 and 12 more individuals who had taken both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. While the nasal spray had no safety concerns, the scientists found that there was a lack of strong systemic response in the body as well as a “weak and inconsistent” immune response. The scientists also found that the number of antibodies after two doses was lower than comparative levels in individuals who received the normal vaccines. But in most cases, there was barely any detectable antibody level.