iNCOVACC

iNCOVACC

News: India's first nasal vaccine (Bharat Biotech’s iNCOVACC) for Covid-19 gets DCGI nod for emergency use.

What is a nasal vaccine?
• A nasal vaccine is a vaccine administered to a person via the nose and does not require a needle. It induces immunity through the inner surface of the nose, a surface that naturally comes in contact with many airborne microbes.

About iNCOVACC:
• The vaccine has been developed by Bharat Biotech with technology in-licensed from Washington University-St Louis.
• iNCOVACC is a chimpanzee adenovirus vectored recombinant nasal vaccine that has been specifically formulated to allow intra-nasal delivery through nasal drops.
• The nasal delivery system has been designed and developed to be cost-effective in low- and middle-income countries. The vaccine is stable at 2-8°C.

How does it work?
• The vaccine is given nasally; it triggers an immune response in the mucosal membrane.
• Intra-nasal Covid-19 vaccines may produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract which may provide the potential to reduce infection and transmission. Therefore, it can stop the virus from replicating at its entry and spreading to the lungs and other parts of the body.
• The intra-nasal vaccine stimulates a broad immune response – neutralizing IgG, mucosal IgA, and T Cell responses.
• Immune responses at the site of infection (in the nasal mucosa) are essential for blocking both infection and transmission of Covid-19.

Importance of Mucosal Vaccines:
• With the vaccine being delivered through a nasal spray, it will do away with the need for needles and syringes currently required for all the Covid-19 vaccines available.
• Reduce the dependence on trained personnel to give shots.
• It has the potential to induce local (mucosal) immunity at the point of entry of the virus. It could ensure the presence of spillover antibodies on the nasal mucosa. The nasal area is the spot through which the Sars- CoV-2 virus enters the body.