Compared with the injected ones, studies have proven that needle-free or inhaled vaccines provide more protection against the severe form of Covid-19, said Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) Chairperson Dr. Nina Gloriani on Thursday, Sept. 8.
Days after China granted CanSino Biologics Inc’s inhaled Covid-19 vaccine an emergency use approval as a booster, Filipino vaccine expert Gloriani explained how this recently-developed drug could be a gamechanger in the world’s battle against the pandemic.
“Sa ngayon ang ating bakuna sa Covid-19 lahat ay injectable. Itong inhaler ay lalanghapin natin. Diretso ito sa airway o respiratory tract at hindi ii-inject (Right now all of our Covid-19 vaccines are injectable. This inhalable vaccine needs to be inhaled. It goes directly into the airway or respiratory tract and will not be injected),” said Gloriani in a “Laging Handa” public briefing.
This method, according to Gloriani, basically emulates the way viruses were transmitted.
“Ang kaibahan nito, ito ay gumagamit ng kaunting dose. One fifth lang ng dose na iniinject sa atin pero maganda ang resulta niya in terms of neutralizing antibodies (The difference is it uses lesser dose. It only uses about one fifth of the dose that was injected to us. Despite this, the results were good in terms of neutralizing antibodies),” said the expert.
Gloriani explained that those individuals who were given the inhalable Covid-19 booster have produced more neutralizing antibodies compared with those who were immunized with needles and three vaccine jabs.
“Meron ding pag aaral na after over six months, although bumababa, ay meron pa ring natitirang antibodies against Omicron Compared doon sa injected na wala nang nakikitang antibodies after six months (There is also a study that after over six months, although it has decreased, those who received inhalable vaccines still have remaining antibodies against Omicron. This was compared to those who were injected with vaccines where there remained no visible antibodies after six months),”Gloriani added.
Meanwhile, in terms of side effects, the expert highlighted that this will be painless as this type of vaccine no longer requires a needle. Recipients, however, may still feel other vaccine side effects such as mild fever and headache.