Formulation, Device, and Clinical Factors Influencing the Targeted Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccines to the Lungs

The COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be an unprecedented health crisis in the human history with more than 5 million deaths worldwide caused to the SARS-CoV-2 and its variants (https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019). The currently authorized lipid nanoparticle (LNP)–encapsulated mRNA vaccines have been shown to have more than 90% vaccine efficacy at preventing COVID-19 illness (Baden et al. New England J Med 384(5):403–416, 2021; Thomas et al., 2021). In addition to vaccines, other small molecules belonging to the class of anti-viral and anti-inflammatory compounds have also been prescribed to reduce the viral proliferation and the associated cytokine storm. These anti-viral and anti-inflammatory compounds have also been shown to be effective in reducing COVID-19 exacerbations especially in reducing the host inflammatory response to SARS-CoV-2. However, all of the currently FDA-authorized vaccines for COVID-19 are meant for intramuscular injection directly into the systemic circulation. Also, most of the small molecules investigated for their anti-COVID-19 efficacy have also been explored using the intravenous route with a few of them explored for the inhalation route (Ramakrishnan et al. Lancet Respir Med 9:763–772, 2021; Horby et al. N Engl J Med 384(8):693–704, 2021). The fact that the SARS-CoV-2 enters the human body mainly via the nasal and airway route resulting in the lungs being the primary organs of infection as characterized by acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)–mediated cytokine storm in the alveolar region has made the inhalation route gain significant attention for the purposes of targeting both vaccines and small molecules to the lungs (Mitchell et al., J Aerosol Med Pulm Drug Deliv 33(4):235–8, 2020). While there have been many studies reporting the safety and efficacy of targeting various therapeutics to the lungs to treat COVID-19, there is still a need to match the choice of inhalation formulation and the delivery device platform itself with the patient-related factors like breathing pattern and respiratory rate as seen in a clinical setting. In that perspective, this review aims to describe the various formulation and patient-related clinical factors that can play an important role in the judicious choice of the inhalation delivery platforms or devices for the development of inhaled COVID-19 vaccines.