Trial of Nasal Covid-19 Vaccine Opens

NIH is testing an experimental Covid-19 nasal vaccine in healthy adults.

Photo:  Sergey Chips/Shutterstock

A phase 1 trial testing the safety of an experimental nasal vaccine that may provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, is now enrolling healthy adults at three sites in the United States.

NIH is sponsoring the first-in-human trial of the investigational vaccine, which was designed and tested in pre-clinical studies by scientists in NIAID’s Laboratory of Infectious Diseases.

“The rapid development of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines was a triumph of science, and their use greatly mitigated the toll of the pandemic,” said NIAID Director Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo. “While first-generation Covid-19 vaccines continue to be effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations and death, they are less successful at preventing infection and milder forms of disease. With the continual emergence of new virus variants, there is a critical need to develop next-generation Covid-19 vaccines, including nasal vaccines, that could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infections and transmission.”

The study aims to enroll 60 adult participants, ages 18 to 64, who previously received at least three prior doses of an FDA-approved or authorized mRNA Covid-19 vaccine.

Trial sites are Baylor College of Medicine, Tex.; the Hope Clinic of Emory University, Ga.; and New York University, Long Island. Dr. Hana M. El Sahly at the Baylor Vaccine Research Center is leading the study.