“A Wuhan resident who took part in a clinical trial inhaled an aerosolized vaccine that spewed from a device.” The prominent Chinese vaccine developer, Chen Wei, showed the video in a speech at the Pujiang Innovation Forum in Shanghai on June 3.

Photo by Yicai

An aerosolized COVID-19 vaccine has applied for emergency use to China's National Medical Products Administration, Chen revealed on June 3.

The aerosolized vaccine, jointly developed by Chen's team and the Chinese biotech company, CanSino Biologics Inc., only requires one-fifth of the amount of the injectable adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccine and doesn't need cold-chain storage and transport. This new vaccine is expected to improve accessibility and reduce the cost of COVID-19 vaccination, Chen said.

The nebulization, which was originally only a treatment fighting against the COVID-19, is now expected to further participate in the COVID-19 defense —vaccination， under the leadership of Academician Chen Wei's team.

Key features of nebulization:

Nebulization is a drug delivery method that takes the respiratory tract and lungs as the target organs and delivers the drug directly to the lesion. With the advantages of fast onset, high local drug concentration, low dosage, convenient application and few systemic adverse reactions, etc., nebulization has become an important therapy for respiratory diseases.

Where do the drugs go after nebulization?

During the nebulization, the diameter of atomized particles has a direct effect on the location of drug deposition. The effective diameter of atomized particles is around 0.5μm ~ 10μm. The 5μm ~ 10μm atomized particles mainly deposit in oropharynx; the 3 ~5μm atomized particles mainly deposit in the lungs; 50% ~ 60% of atomized particles with the diameter less than 3μm deposit in alveoli.

Inhalation through nose or mouth?

Because the diameter of the nasal cavity is smaller than that of the oral cavity, and the turbinate is curved, many atomized particles are more likely to adhere to the inner wall of the nasal cavity, resulting in more sedimentation during nasal inhalation. That is, more drugs are wasted in the nasal cavity than in the oral cavity, and the number of aerosols reaching the alveoli or small airways is reduced, reducing the effectiveness of the treatment. Therefore, atomization inhalation is more appropriate through the mouth than through the nose. As you can see in the photo at the beginning of this article, subjects in clinical trials also inhaled the vaccine through the mouth.

W.E.O'S Disposable Bacterial-proof Nebulizer is used to administer medication in the form of small aerosol droplets inhaled into the lung.

²  Adopt a high-efficiency bacterial-proof filter with pore diameter of 0.2μm, which can ensure the sterilization of compressive airflow.

²  Small atomized droplets can facilitate the medication inhaled by the patients.

²  Adopt an anti-dislocation and anti-skidding design for the connectors, which are free from shedding and easily inserted or pulled.

²  Proprietary three-way switch can achieve fast conversion of nebulization and oxygen inhalation.