Stopping COVID-19 where it starts

Abstract

Vaccines are synonymous with shots, but it doesn’t have to be that way. More than a dozen groups are working on COVID-19 vaccines that can be squirted or sprayed into the nose instead of injected in the arm. Besides the potential practical advantage of easier administration, these vaccines could trigger the mucosal immune system to make antibodies in the nose and help stop the coronavirus at its point of entry. It sounds great, but the mucosal immune system is hard to study, and pharma companies have been reluctant to invest in the needle-free approach. Mucosal immunologists and intranasal vaccine developers are hoping the pandemic will change that. “Most people don’t like to watch,” the pharmacist told me as I stared at the thin needle piercing my arm. After more than a year of lockdowns and disrupted economies and millions of lost lives, this shot felt like salvation—a moment that countless