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Incovacc, Intranasal Covid-19 Vaccine

Why in the News?

Bharat Biotech’s intranasal vaccine, BBV154 or Incovacc is the world’s first intranasal vaccine to be approved as a booster dose for Covid-19.

What is Incovacc?

• About:
  • The nasal vaccine is a recombinant replication-deficient adenovirus vectored vaccine with a pre-fusion stabilized spike protein.
• Significance:
  • With the vaccine being delivered through a nasal spray, it will do away with the need for needles and syringes currently required for all the Covid-19 vaccines available.
  • It will also reduce dependence on personnel trained to give shots.
  • Incovacc is effective for Omicron variants that replicate in the upper respiratory tract before entering the lungs.
• Mechanism:
  • As the vaccine is given nasally, it triggers an immune response in the mucosal membrane.
  • BBV154 may produce local antibodies in the upper respiratory tract which may provide the potential to reduce infection and transmission.
  • Since the nasal vaccine gives local immunity (in the nose where the virus first enters), it can be said that it is more likely to be effective at preventing transmission than the current generation of vaccines we have.
• Booster Dose:
  • This is the second heterologous booster to be included in the vaccination programme after Corbevax.
    • In homologous boosting, a person is injected with the same vaccine that was used for the two previous doses. In heterologous boosting, a person is injected with a different vaccine from that was used for the primary dose.
  • It has previously received the nod to be used as a primary dose.
  • Incovacc will be available as a booster dose only for those above 18 years of age who have got 2 doses of either Covaxin or Covishield.
    • It will not be administered to any other category, for now, including those who have already taken booster dose.
    • Those who have taken Covishield and Covaxin can now take this nasal vaccine as a heterologous booster dose.