Covid updates: Vaccine scientists could make pills or nasal sprays after PM reveals lockdown roadmap

We could one day be vaccinated against coronavirus by taking a tablet or using a nasal spray – with the scientists behind the Oxford vaccine currently exploring the possibility of these “second generation formulations”.

Following comments from the UK’s former vaccine taskforce chief Kate Bingham suggesting that injections via healthcare professionals are “not a good way of delivering vaccines”, the Oxford team’s lead researcher Professor Sarah Gilbert told MPs on the Science and Technology Committee that nasal sprays could be a “very good approach in the future”, while tablets would have “a lot of benefits for vaccine rollout”.

It comes after Boris Johnson unveiled the government’s “roadmap” out of lockdown, suggesting that while most restrictions will remain in place for at least another few weeks, if all goes to plan in terms of vaccines and variants, all legal limits on social contact could be lifted by 21 June.