A nasal spray COVID-19 vaccine being developed in Taiwan is more effective than a vaccine injection, animal trials have shown, with human trials expected to start next year, a research team from National Taiwan University (NTU) said on Wednesday.
While traditional intramuscular injection of COVID-19 vaccines can produce IgG antibody responses in the lower respiratory tract, the university’s nasal spray vaccine also induces IgA antibodies, which can reach the upper respiratory tract to prevent the spread of the virus, said Huang Li-min (黃立民), head of the Department of Pediatrics at NTU Hospital.
Antibodies are made by the body’s immune system in response to bacteria, viruses, fungi, animal dander or cancer cells.
Testing of the intranasal COVID-19 vaccine on animals found that it was working even better than an injection, Huang said, adding that human trials of the nasal vaccine could start in the first half of next year once funding is secured.
The initial strain of SARS-CoV-2 that emerged in Wuhan, China, was used for the animal trials, and variants might be included in future testing, Huang said.
Another medical development from NTU involves a cloud-based mobile platform for remote monitoring of oxygen levels of people infected with COVID-19.
The technology was developed by the university in collaboration with the business sector, and could reduce sudden deaths due to silent hypoxia, NTU College of Medicine dean Ni Yen-hsuan (倪衍玄) said.
Silent hypoxia is a condition in which a person feels well, but has depleted oxygen saturation levels.
NTU Hospital doctors are also using the Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality headsets to examine COVID-19 patients while maintaining a safe distance from them, Ni said.
NTU’s progress in COVID-19 prevention and research has been assisted by the Research Center for Epidemic Prevention Science, which was established last year by the Ministry of Science and Technology, with a budget of about NT$185 million (US$6.62 million).
The ministry on Wednesday said it plans to spend another NT$600 million from next year to 2025 on developing new research and techniques for epidemic prevention.
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