Researchers from Chalmers, the University of Gothenburg and the pharmaceutical company Astra Zenica jointly undertake the project to develop a vaccine against covid-19. It is precisely a nasal spray that the researchers hope to develop, which has several advantages over giving a syringe straight into the body.

- If you are vaccinated via the mucosa, you can get an immune protection locally at that particular mucosa. It is very good because it can then bind to the virus before the virus enters the body, says Karin Norling, a researcher at Chalmers.

When you vaccinate directly into the body, you get antibodies in the blood instead, she explains. Another advantage is that you can easily vaccinate yourself with a nasal spray - and you do not have to go to the health center and risk further infection.

Several places

Trials are being made in various parts of the world to research a vaccine against covid-19. The researchers in Gothenburg, like all other research teams, try to produce a vaccine of their own, and thus will not use someone else's vaccine for the nasal spray.

Isn't it enough to manufacture vaccines elsewhere?

- There is nothing to guarantee that the projects that already exist will lead to a launch. There is no assessment of how good or bad their approach is, but it is just a fact of how vaccine development looks. Therefore, it is important to have several irons in the fire, because you do not know what will work and not, says Karin Norling.

Global need big

She goes on to say that several different vaccines will be needed as the global need will be so great.

It is still unclear if the project will lead to a completed vaccine. In the next six months, researchers will evaluate the prospects for their vaccine. Nor does Karin Norling want to reveal how long it could potentially take a while before we see a Gothenburg nasal spray vaccine.

- It all depends entirely on how things are progressing here now, she says.