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Sore arms may soon rejoice—future COVID boosters could be delivered as a puff instead of a jab. Vaccine researchers at the Â鶹ÊÓƵ (URMC) are investigating whether nasal vaccines, already available for the flu, can be effective against COVID.

"Most of the time, the strains we select for vaccines aren't a perfect match, because the virus evolves faster than we can keep up," said David Topham, PhD, founding director of the University of Rochester’s Translational Immunology and Infectious Disease Institute and principal investigator of the new study. "We need vaccines that elicit cross-reactive immunity—immunity that doesn’t rely on which strain is circulating but still offers protection and prevents severe illness or hospitalization."

This study aims to set important benchmarks that could guide the development of COVID nasal vaccines, which have the potential to strengthen the immune response in the respiratory system, where the virus initially attacks. sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The new study will use data previously collected by a consortium that included Angela Branche, MD, co-director of the Â鶹ÊÓƵVaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit. This prior study, called COVAIL, compared single- and multi-strain COVID vaccines. Results published in in 2023 showed that boosters don’t need to match a specific strain to provide protection.

T Cells in the Respiratory System: A Key Focus

Blood and nasal swabs collected from COVAIL participants hold key clues to making future vaccines more effective. The current research will take on the complex task of identifying markers of mucosal immunity—the immune system's defense that protects the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.

Topham and his team will focus on the activity of T cells, a type of immune cell. Unlike antibodies that bind with the spike on the COVID virus, T cells target parts of the virus that do not mutate. Certain T cells reside in the airways and lung tissue, and Topham has been studying their role in respiratory infections like the flu and RSV for over two decades.

This expertise, along with the need for advanced flow cytometry equipment, is one reason NIAID has provided Â鶹ÊÓƵwith $2.3 million in funding for the project, which is expected to be completed within a year.

"There is a new generation of vaccines being developed to induce better local immunity in the respiratory tract, but we still lack robust ways to measure it," Topham added. "This research will help us measure mucosal T cell responses in blood, allowing us to compare how well different vaccines generate these critical cells."