Only about 30% of Americans are fully vaccinated and boosted. That means about 70% of Americans are frightened of needles, or they are anti vax lunatics. People are tired of COVID-19. They are done with the virus although the virus is not done with us. The virus is becoming more transmissible with each new variant.
The vaccines that are available have turned the deadly COVID virus into something more akin to the common cold for the fully vaccinated people who get infected. While these vaccines are great at protecting against severe illness and death, they cannot stop vaccinated people from contracting the virus and experiencing mild symptoms and possibly spreading the virus to others.
To help prevent mild COVID infections, what is needed are vaccines that protect us where infections start: in the mucus membranes of the nose, mouth, and throat. And for that, we are likely going to need nasal vaccines.
More than a dozen clinical trials with nasal sprays are under way, The Guardian reported, but the development process is tricky. Nasal vaccines must create an immune response but not be potent enough to make people sick. If the dose it too weak then the vaccine will not work. This sweet spot becomes even harder to find when some people already have some immunity to COVID from past infections.
A nasal vaccine could be more easily manufactured and distributed because it’s stored in a regular refrigerator rather than ultra-cold temperatures like the Moderna and Pfizer mRNA vaccines. A nasal dose could be produced for about 30 cents compared to $30 for a Moderna or Pfizer dose. Needle pansies might be more inclined to get vaccinated if they can just spray it up their nose.