WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan Says New Vaccines May Be Needleless

Needleless COVID-19 Vaccines: The World Health Organization's top scientist declares that the new Covid-19 vaccines, may not require needles and can be stored at room temperature.

These vaccines may be ready for use later this year or in 2022. On Saturday, in an interview with, Soumya Swaminathan, the Geneva-based agency’s chief scientist, said that six-to-eight new immunizations may complete clinical studies and undergo regulatory review by the end of the year. 

According to the data collected by the publication, Only 122 countries have started immunizing people. The new vaccines will be an addition to the already tested Covid-19 vaccines this year. 

“We’re thrilled with the vaccines that now we have,” stated Swaminathan, an Indian paediatrician greatest recognized for her analysis on tuberculosis and HIV. 

“I believe, effectively into 2022, we’ll see the emergence of improved vaccines,” she added.

Speaking of the current crop of experimental vaccines, she mentioned that they use alternative technologies and delivery systems, and include more single-shot inoculations. Also, these vaccines are administered orally, via a nasal spray, and through the skin using a type of patch. According to Swaminathan, the vaccines could bring immunizations that are better suited for certain groups, such as pregnant women. 

Currently, over 80 candidate vaccines are being tested on people. While some of them are at the early stages of testing, others may not be successful. 

"We need to continue to support the research and development of more vaccine candidates, especially as the need for ongoing booster immunization of populations is still not very clear at this point," Swaminathan further explained. 

"So we need to be prepared for that in the future," she asserted. 

The WHO scientist talked about a global trial involving a pool of people and countries which would be advantageous, she declares. She emphasised that testing vaccines in diverse ethnicities, age groups, and people with different medical conditions makes the results more generalizable.

“We are in discussions now with several companies with vaccines in development to see if we could launch something like this on a global trial platform,” Soumya Swaminathan said, adding that she’s optimistic such a study may begin in the first half of 2021.

Featured Image: Bloomberg