India approves first intranasal Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use

Taking to Twitter, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced the development on a cheery note.

Big Boost to India’s Fight Against COVID-19!

Bharat Biotech’s ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant nasal vaccine approved by @CDSCO_INDIA_INF for primary immunization against COVID-19 in 18+ age group for restricted use in emergency situation.

— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) September 6, 2022

South First gives you all information about this vaccine.

What is BBV154 intranasal vaccine?

A release from the vaccine’s maker stated: “It is a novel adenovirus-vectored intranasal vaccine for Covid 19.  These vaccines are the ones in which adenoviruses are used as vectors for delivering a particular antigen into the body of the host, which will read the foreign particle and create antibodies against it.”

It added: “This vaccine was specifically formulated to allow intranasal delivery. The vaccine was developed in partnership with Washington University St Louis. While the latter had designed and developed the recombinant adenoviral vectored constructs and evaluated them in preclinical studies for efficacy, the former did the product development.”

Bharat Biotech explained in its statement: “This includes pre-clinical safety evaluation, large-scale manufacturing, formulation, and delivery device development including human clinical trials. The firm completed clinical trials with 4,000 volunteers and the company claims that there are no side effects or adverse reactions reported so far.

Bharat Biotech completes clinical development for phase III trials and booster doses for BBV154 intranasal covid vaccine.#BharatBiotech #covid19vaccine #bbv154 #intranasalvaccine #covid19 pic.twitter.com/oh76drnezz

— BharatBiotech (@BharatBiotech) August 15, 2022

Advantages of BBV154

The company claimed that this vaccine was likely to prevent infection and transmission, and also prevent the spread of the disease.

It also said BBV154 was needle-free and non-invasive. Hence, it could be administered easily, especially for children and elders. Needle-associated risks like infections and injuries could be eliminated.

The spray causes the immune system to make proteins in the blood and in the nose to help fight the virus.

As the nose is one of the common ways the novel coronavirus enters one’s body, this nasal vaccine helps in preventing it.

Also, it has the potential to produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract.

Other details

Nasal vaccines are needle free and easy to administer. Representational pic. (Creative Commons)

The company statement said that this was a two-dose schedule that came with a heterologous booster dose for subjects who have already received two doses of commonly administered Covishield and Covaxin shots.

There is no clarity on when the vaccine will be available in the market.

However, when it does, it will come approved for the 18-plus age group, and for restricted use in emergencies.

What do Indian doctors say about the vaccine?

Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, a noted epidemiologist and former head of the Indian Medical Association, said: “Currently used Covid-19 vaccines are systemic, that is injected into the muscle. Although they generate a systemic immune response that protects against severe disease and death, they are not very good at preventing infections.”

He added: “We know now that their effectiveness in preventing infections wanes within a few months.”

He noted that it had been found that infection through the natural route could enhance mucosal immunity, which is the lining of the upper respiratory tract starting from the nose and reaching into the lungs.

“As the mode of entry of the virus is this area, shoring up the immune response here will be an added layer of protection against infection,” he said.

“Nasal vaccines are hoped to fill this gap, even though the experience is limited, and the duration of protection is not established yet,” added Jayadevan.