Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to fund research into intra-nasal covid-19 vaccines.

The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). The NIHR and UK Research and Innovation have co-funded rapid research on nasal administration of vaccines. Approximately £580,000 was awarded to Imperial College London for a study on the safety and lower airway immunogenicity of two candidate COVID-19 vaccines administered to the respiratory tract. Additionally, the NIHR is providing infrastructure support to two phase one studies in this area, including the study at Imperial College London. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including intra-nasal COVID-19 vaccines.