By Jennylou Canon

PHOTO: Healthcare Forbes

Have you ever thought of just smelling vaccines instead of being injected into your body?

Impossible as it may seem, immunologists have studied the advantages of intranasal COVID-19 vaccines—and the results may blow your mind.



University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Frances Lund and Troy Randall found out that intranasal vaccines, or simply jabs being inhaled, help create an extra layer of protection and deliver antigens to combat the virus.

“Advantages of intranasal vaccines include needle-free administration, delivery of antigen to the site of infection, and the elicitation of mucosal immunity in the respiratory tract,” Lund and Randall explained.

However, the immunologists still recommend getting the normal COVID-19 intramuscular vaccine, and suggested that the COVID-19 intranasal vaccine may be administered as a booster shot.



Compared to COVID-19 intramuscular shots, intranasal shots are not commonly made with encapsulated mRNA as antigens produced may go to the respiratory tract and induce inflammation when applied incorrectly.

Encapsulated COVID-19 mRNA instructs the immune system to produce antibodies that will help fight the “virus” in the system.

Encapsulated mRNA vaccines are only extracted from the virus, contrary to beliefs that mRNA vaccines are the virus itself.

As of now, there are no intranasal COVID-19 vaccines that are approved for usage as they are still undergoing clinical trials to further understand the effects on the body.