Oral Vaccines; Help Curb the Widespread Transmission of Various Infectious Diseases Worldwide

 Although most vaccines are delivered via the parenteral route, oral vaccines are considered a viable and cost-effective option for the prevention of non-mucosal transmitted infections. Oral vaccines are safe and easy to administer and convenient for all ages. These type of vaccines are developed to protect people from various infectious diseases. To increase immunity against vital disorders, such as tuberculosis and influenza, new oral vaccines are being produced in developed countries. Most oral vaccines are based on heat-killed or attenuated pathogens.

Several vaccines are given by the oral route including cholera, rotavirus, oral polio vaccine, and some typhoid vaccines. Oral vaccination provides both social and economic advantages. The use of needle-free vaccine administration eliminates the risk of transmitting blood-borne pathogens and can be performed by health workers without any medical training. However, most currently available vaccines are delivered by injection, which makes mass immunization more costly and less safe, particularly in resource-poor developing countries.

Oral vaccines are mostly preferred for mass vaccination and are mostly liquid filled in sachet or blister. Moreover, demand for oral vaccines has increased due to the increasing prevalence of various infectious disease, such as tuberculosis, cholera, and others, worldwide. According to the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT), tuberculosis is highly endemic in Mexico, especially among the native Indian populations in southern Mexico and Baja California. Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is an oral vaccine for tuberculosis.

Moreover, the emergence of COVID-19 (the global pandemic) is also expected to increase the demand for oral vaccines. New forms of COVID-19 vaccine are now being developed by several pharma companies across the world. For example, in March 2021, Premas Biotech and Oramed Pharmaceuticals announced the development of an oral COVID-19 vaccine candidate that has shown efficacy after a single dose. The vaccine is available in capsule form. The use of oral vaccines has curbed the widespread transmission of infectious diseases worldwide.