Nasal vaccines could stop pandemics before they begin Sparking an immune response where microbes enter the body should not only stop a person getting sick, but also prevent them spreading the infection to others. By Anthony King

Nasal vaccines could stop pandemics before they begin Sparking an immune response where microbes enter the body should not only stop a person getting sick, but also prevent them spreading the infection to others. By Anthony King https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02656-5?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=d4068ce1ef-nature-briefing-daily-20260911&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 Injected vaccines can raise an army of antibodies in the blood to stave off major illness, but don’t prevent infection at the points where respiratory viruses enter the body. Researchers hope that nasal vaccines could bolster protection at the moist mucosal barriers that line the respiratory tract, which could enable a person to rapidly ward off pathogens and prevent them from spreading a virus to others. A long line of failures demonstrates that developing a mucosal vaccine is a challenging task, but their promise is still enough to maintain commercial interest.