Covid vaccines that are not delivered by injection, would they be more acceptable to vaccine skeptics?

[cdemundo]

Several "Viral Vector Vaccines" that are in early testing phase are not administered by injection.

 https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html#novavax

 

1)  Vaxart in PHASE 1 testing:  While many vaccines are given as injections, some vaccines can be taken as a pill. Oral vaccines have been approved for diseases including polio, cholera, and typhoid fever. The small San Francisco company Vaxart specializes in developing oral vaccines. They have created and tested pills for influenza and other diseases. Last spring Vaxart began work on an oral vaccine for Covid-19. It contains an adenovirus called Ad5 (the same viral vector in CanSinoBio’s vaccine and in Russia’s Sputnik V).

 

2) In phase1 testing:  In 2019, researchers at the University of Hong Kong and Xiamen University created a nasal-spray vaccine for the flu based on a genetically weakened form of the influenza virus. Earlier this year, they engineered the vaccine to produce part of the coronavirus spike protein as well. On Sept. 9, they received approval to start clinical trials in partnership with Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy.

 

3) The California-based company ImmunityBio created a vaccine using the Ad5 adenovirus, the same one used by CanSinBio and the Gamaleya Institute in Russia. ImmunityBio engineered the Ad5 virus to carry genes for two genes from the coronavirus. In addition to the spike protein, it also carries the gene for a protein called nucleocapsid. The company hopes that this combination will provoke a strong immune response. The company found that the vaccine protects monkeys from the coronavirus. ImmunityBio launched a Phase 1 trial of a Covid-19 vaccine in October in the United States and another in South Africa in January. In February the company registered a Phase 1 trial of an oral version of the vaccine.

 

There may be others as well.

I was speaking to a vaccine reluctant person who had been hopeful that the Merck "swish and swallow" vaccine would come to market but it was abandoned due to poor results.

Are non-injection vaccines more easily accepted by vaccine skeptics?

If so these vaccines might be very useful in reaching a significant number of people who don't want injected vaccines.

[internationalism]

they are much easier stored and distributed, because don't require low temperatures. And have long expiry date.

Also much more practical to administer.

For that they might also be cheaper. It would be ideal to buy over the counter in any pharmacy.

Would be good to have as many vax as possible, just as a back up. 

I would not worry about those, who don't want to be vaccinated. They will always find any excuse and there is no way to force them.

They might claim they had already covid, so they are immune.

They might even try to get infected on purpose.  

But fact is, that not covid made vax will also protect - MMR, pneumonia are long known, safe and cheap. Most important - they are readily available in every country 

[fangless]

I don't get the point and neither would they.

You are just sugaring the pill!

[cormanr7]

It does not have to be a pill. There is a phase I trial in India (by Codagenex in partnership with Serum Institute) with a nasal spray, with another company expected to start a trial in the US shortly. A major reason to use they sprays is not to convince hardcore antivaxxers, but reduce/prevent SARS-CoV-2 replication in the nose. More details here: https://www.biospace.com/article/intranasal-approaches-have-potential-as-vaccines-and-therapies-for-covid-19/. Potential advantages are they might be attractive for people who are scared of injection needles or have blood clotting disorders. Also it might be a low cost alternative for developing countries. There is a precedent: a nasal spray vaccine for flu is already in use.

[GroveHillWanderer]

I'm not sure that most anti-vaxxers base their objections on the fact that the vaccine is administered by needle.

 

I suppose some that are just "vaccine-hesitant" rather than truly against vaccination, might find it more acceptable.

 

[mtls2005]

I'll take a injection over scarification, that's for sure.

 

Seen some nasty scars here on people. Some are ok, others look like a map of Thailand. Effective, but looks a bit scary.

 

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

Another alternative to the nasal or oral route are "needle-free" systems. 

 

One of these is actually being used for one of the two Thai vaccines currently under development, which is undergoing clinical trials in Australia.

 

PharmaJet’s Needle-free System to Be Used in Australian Clinical COVID-19 Trial