@DiverDoc @cadenza @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz
Actual infection doesn't give lasting immunity either, and mucosal antibodies are shorter-lived than IgG. Not sure there's a biomedical solution other than _well-matched_ vaccines every few months. Nasal vaccine advantage might simply be that it's not a needle so people more willing to get it.
@mindstalk @DiverDoc @cadenza @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz
The "cholera vaccines" section here is interesting.
https://www.nature.com/articles/nm1213
I'm in the camp of nasal vaccines. Even if they're not super long lived, and the data seems to suggest in that article and elsewhere seems to indicate that 6 months wouldn't be out of the ordinary, you're hitting the key point with no needles. A nasal vaccine could, conceivably, be distributed for self-administration semi-regularly.
Is there political or public health will for this? I kind of doubt it, but, it's the best, realistic, biomedical solution I see out there.
@mindstalk @BE @DiverDoc @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz there will never be an attenuated live vaccine for COVID because it’s too dangerous. I think the nasal vaccine is a version of the mRNA vaccine, which uses spike proteins only. I took the Novovax booster (which uses the same technology as Flucelvax) and only experienced minor dizziness. As long as I can schedule a long weekend, I think I can stick to the schedule.
@cadenza @BE @DiverDoc @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz That would be better. I just wondered if there was some reason nasal vaccines need to use live virus to function. Regular flu shot is killed-virus.
@mindstalk @BE @DiverDoc @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz I would imagine that a killed virus would be able to invade the bloodstream from the nasal passages. And it has to get into the bloodstream for T cells to build immunity.
@cadenza @BE @DiverDoc @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz But then I wonder why FluMist went with live virus.
@mindstalk @BE @DiverDoc @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz because it is more effective in inducing immune response, even if it’s a bit more dangerous.
@mindstalk @cadenza @DiverDoc @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz
Last I knew there were 11 nasal vaccines left in various phases of clinical trials, but the link I had that kept track of them quit working. I believe just 2 of them were based on live, attenuated virus. The rest were not.
This one tracks all COVID-19 vaccines in development and is updated regularly:
https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
It's showing 14 nasal, 1 aerosol and 2 inhaled candidates right now. You can check the tabs across the top to see which is which. It doesn't have all of the data that I used to be able to see elsewhere, so if anyone knows a better tracker please share.
@BE @DiverDoc @cadenza @mathew1927 @ZeroCovidColin @gemelliz Flip side, the one nasal vaccine I know of is FluMist, attenuated-live, and the idea of taking (even weakened) live covid-19 virus every 6 months makes me twitchy.