Inhalable COVID-19 booster could give better protection vs. Omicron –vax expert

Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) chief Dr. Nina Gloriani on Wednesday said the inhaled COVID-19 booster, on top of the primary vaccine series, could give people better protection against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus disease.

Gloriani was referring to the inhaled version of China's CanSino Biologics Inc.'s adenovirus-vectored COVID-19 vaccine, which was recently approved by China's drug regulator for emergency use as a booster.

Citing studies, Gloriani said this inhalable vaccine has good safety profile and high immunogenicity.

"Maganda ang safety profile niya sa ngayon… Ang merong data ngayon ay 'yung immunogenicity. Nae-elicit ba niya ba 'yung gusto nating immune response? Yes, meron. Actually, halos pareho,” she said in a radio interview.

(Its safety profile is good so far... The data available now is about immunogenicity. Does it elicit the immune response we want? Yes. Actually, it's almost the same.)

Gloriani said data show that the combination of the two injected primary doses and one inhaled booster yielded better results than all three doses being injected in a person's body.

"Nakita nila na kumpara sa pare-pareho na tatlong injectable, versus dalawang injectable plus one [inhaled] booster, ay actually mas maganda ang resulta doon sa inhalable na booster," she said.

(They found out that compared to the three injectables, the two injectables plus one inhaled booster had better results.)

"Mas mataas at maganda rin ang kanyang performance at protection against the Omicron variant," she added.

(Its performance and protection against the Omicron variant is also higher and better.)

However, Gloriani said that the inhalable vaccine is only recommendable to healthy adults for now, and is not advisable for those who have asthma as it may trigger hyperactivity.

She also explained that manufacturers of the inhalable vaccines need to apply and be granted first an emergency use Authorization (EUA) by the Philippine Food and Drug administration (FDA) before it can be used in the country.

"It has its potentials kasi nga imbes na injection-an natin, ang delivery ng vaccine through the nose or mouth… kung saan sa normal na pagpasok ng virus, 'yun ang nangyayari sa natural infection. Imi-mimic niya, i-imitate niya ang pagpasok ng virus," the VEP chief said.

(It has its potential because instead of injecting it, we deliver the vaccine through the nose or mouth... where the virus enters in natural infection. This inhalable booster will mimic or imitate the entry of the virus.)

Based on DOH's national COVID-19 vaccination dashboard, only 18.1 million of the 72.6 million fully vaccinated Filipinos have received their booster shots so far. —KBK, GMA News