Covid, second generation vaccines: WHO hopes for nasal sprays and pills

Second generation vaccines which could include nasal sprays or pills and which would have the advantage of being easier to use than needle injections, so that they can also be self-administered. They are the ones who wished to have soon available one of the scientists of the World Health Organization (WHO), Soumya Swaminathan, who in the last few hours took stock of the situation on the topic of the new generation of anti-Covid vaccines.

Vaccines currently being tested

deepening

Currently, the Indian pediatrician and clinical scientist explained, as many as 129 vaccines are being studied, some of which are already involved in the clinical trial phase, therefore directly tested on humans. While there are 194 that have not yet reached such an advanced stage. “They cover the entire spectrum of technologies,” said the expert. “They are still being studied, but I am sure that some of them will be very safe and effective, while others will not be,” he added.

The advantage of a spray vaccine

The World Health Organization itself, confirmed the scientist, will choose the most appropriate among the second generation vaccines and is also considering the idea of ​​using some for the development of vaccines against other diseases, besides Covid-19. But what can be the advantage of a nasal vaccine, already used for example in some countries of the world, against the flu? As noted by the Indian pediatrician, one of the benefits is that it can treat the virus even before it reaches the lungs. To date, in the context of the fight against the coronavirus, the WHO has in any case issued the emergency marketing authorization for seven anti-Covid vaccines, namely those produced by the laboratories of Pfizer / BioNTech and then again of Moderna, AstraZeneca , Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm, Sinovac and Bharat Biotech. “To date, with regard to the vaccines that we have already approved, there has never been any sign of concern that we have had to review the drug,” concluded Swaminathan. Among other things, as confirmed by the expert, more than 7.25 billion vaccines have already been administered around the world.