Gamaleya's nasal Covid-19 vaccine well tolerated - developer

MOSCOW. April 5 (Interfax) - The nasal Covid-19 vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Center is well tolerated, practically without fever, Gamaleya Deputy Director for Science Denis Logunov said.

"The vaccine is very well tolerated, practically without fever," Logunov said on the Rossiya-24 television channel (VGTRK) on Tuesday.

"If we look back at the situation two years ago and compare parenteral and nasal vaccination, the difference would be obvious, because a larger quantity of drug is received in parenteral vaccination and a stronger immunity is elicited. But the current situation is such that, approximately, over 90% of people are immune. This is a booster vaccination, which elicits very good immunity and will have comparable efficacy," he said.

Logunov said he tested the crude drug on himself before the classic Sputnik V was developed. "We started developing the first drug as a nasal [vaccine] not because we were afraid but because we did not have much of a production and had to visit the red zone. So the first drugs, which were not completely purified, were administered nasally," he said.

The Russian Health Ministry registered Gamaleya's nasal Covid-19 vaccine on April 1. Just like Sputnik V, this is a two-component adenoviral vector vaccine administered with a special spray nozzle into the nasal cavity with an interval of 3 weeks, that is, in the "prime-boost" mode.

At this stage, the drug is available to persons aged 18 and up at vaccinating medical establishments. According to the Russian Health Ministry, the nasal vaccine can be used by people older than 60.