A new study assessing the efficacy of the single dose of an intranasal vaccine against COVID-19 has found that the drug fully protects mice against the infection. The vaccine also blocks the animal-to-animal transmission of the coronavirus. This can lead to the development of a successful inhaled COVID-19 vaccine for humans after further research.

Unlike traditional vaccines that require the drug to be injected inside the body, this vaccine is administered through a nasal spray making it easier to be administered to the animals. The best part about this vaccine is that it requires only a single dose and can be stored at normal refrigerator temperatures for up to at least three months.

Also Read: Mixing and matching COVID vaccine doses dangerous: WHO scientist

The findings of the study, which was conducted by a team from the University of Iowa (UI) and the University of Georgia, were published in Science Advances.

The process used in the experimental vaccine involves the introduction of a harmless parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5) in the body to deliver the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein into cells, where it prompts an immune response.

“The currently available vaccines against COVID-19 are very successful, but the majority of the world’s population is still unvaccinated and there is a critical need for more vaccines that are easy to use and effective at stopping disease and transmission,” said Paul McCray, MD, professor of pediatrics-pulmonary medicine, and microbiology and immunology at the UI Carver College of Medicine, and co-leader of the study.

Also Read: Medical bodies, world leaders divided on COVID vaccine booster shots

The research showed that the vaccine produced a localised immune response, involving antibodies and cellular immunity, that completely protected mice from fatal doses of SARS-CoV-2. Apart from mice, the dose also works on ferrets and appeared to block transmission of the virus from infected ferrets to their unprotected counterparts.

According to some experimental researches conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mice and ferrets are some of the mammals that are more susceptible to coronavirus than others.

Another study on similar lines had been conducted by researchers of  Washington University School of Medicine who had developed an intranasal vaccine that targets the SARS-CoV-2 virus.