UGA progressing on new COVID-19 nasal vaccine
University of Georgia scientists are leading the way in developing a brand new COVID-19 vaccine.
Researchers at the university are making major progress on a nasal spray vaccine.
On Friday, Channel 2 Action News spoke with the lead researcher about this breakthrough, UGA professor of infectious disease Dr. Biao He.
“That makes me excited about what we do,” Biao said. “Since so many pathogens come through the respiratory tract, and the idea is, wouldn’t it be easier if we just immunize through the route of infection.”
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The team got the idea thinking about dogs, which get a nasal vaccine for kennel cough.
The FDA approved clinical trials of the spray, and the trials are now entering phase two.
A slow-motion video released from UGA shows how the vaccine works.
Biao recently spoke about the team’s findings during a White House panel.
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He hopes a simple spray instead of shots will encourage more people to get vaccinated.
“Imagine how comfortable and people will be receptive you can increase the vaccination rate in the human population.”
The project is a year in the making, thanks to taxpayer-funded research and support from UGA.
“I really feel we are very, very fortunate that what we are doing turned out to be very good and has a great practical application,” Biao said.
The team is now recruiting ages 12 through 17 for future trials.
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