NEW YORK (GZERO MEDIA) - A plethora of better Covid-19 vaccines can be expected in the future, says World Health Organisation chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan in an interview with American political scientist Ian Bremmer.

One such vaccine, through the use of nasal sprays, is expected to be able to provide local mucosal immunity in addition to systemic immunity, notes Dr Swaminathan.

Local mucosal immunity helps prevent the virus from remaining in the nasal passage from where it can still spread if masks are not worn, research suggests. On the other hand, systemic immunity protects the body after the virus has fully entered the body and only helps to prevent serious illness and death.

Apart from nasal sprays, other variants of the Covid-19 vaccine being developed are oral vaccines that will help to bring about benefits such as being able to freely administer the vaccine at home with pills.

Dr Swaminathan expressed optimism that these different vaccines will be able to help with the vaccination effort in poorer nations, especially with the development of vaccines that can be stored at room temperature, mitigating the need for costly equipment and logistics, which will help drive the prices of vaccines down.

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