In November 2022, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) co-hosted a virtual workshop on the importance and challenges of developing mucosal vaccines for SARS-COV-2. The highlights of this workshop have now been published as a report in npj Vaccines.Although vaccines currently available for COVID-19 are usually effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalizations and death, researchers recognize the need for improvement. A vaccine more effective at preventing transmission or infection with SARS-CoV-2 could reduce overall replication of the virus and associated disease burden. Because SARS-CoV-2 enters the body and is transmitted via the respiratory tract, a vaccine to promote a mucosal immune response in the respiratory tract could be better at blocking transmission and infection. Although at least 44 mucosal vaccines are currently in preclinical development, and several more are in clinical development or authorized for use in other countries, no COVID-19 mucosal vaccines have been authorized for use by regulatory agencies in the United States or Europe.
