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The Discovery FilesVaccine Spray!
NSF-funded scientists are developing two alternative delivery methods for the COVID vaccine. Each can help us prepare to fend off potential future pandemics. They are using it to develop an inhalable vaccine spray, building immune system protection directly from the lungs, as well as a vaccine administered by the traditional shot.
Credit: National Science Foundation
Vaccine spray!
Hi, I'm Mo Barrow with The Discovery Files, from NSF -- the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Vaccines are helping to end the COVID pandemic, but the current versions require freezing, which limits shelf-life.
NSF-funded scientists at Rutgers, Rice, and Northeastern Universities are developing two alternative delivery methods. Each can help us prepare to fend off potential future pandemics.
With an experimental design, researchers simulated the part of an antigen molecule that can be programmed to target specific viruses.
They are using it to develop an inhalable vaccine spray -- building immune system protection directly from the lungs -- as well as a vaccine administered by the traditional shot.
Each vaccine teaches the immune system to guard against COVID-19 and may be adaptable to protect against different variants of the virus.
Each could also be easier to manufacture than existing vaccines making them more accessible and neither requires cold storage, extending shelf-life.
This basic research may not only help to combat COVID-19 but could also be used to help boost the immune system against future diseases.
Discover how the U.S. National Science Foundation is advancing research at nsf.gov.
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