ABSTRACT
Approved COVID-19 vaccines to date have limited effectiveness in protecting infection and blocking transmission. A nasal spray of broad-spectrum antibody against COVID-19 (SA58 Nasal Spray) has recently been developed by Sinovac Life Sciences Co., Ltd.. From October 31 to November 30, 2022, an open-label, blank controlled study on the SA58 Nasal Spray against COVID-19 infection was conducted with the medical personnel working in the designated COVID-19 hospitals and Fangcang shelter hospitals (alternate care sites) of COVID-19 cases in Hohhot city, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A total of 6662 medical personnel were involved in this study: 3368 used SA58 Nasal Spray from the drug group, and 3294 not used from blank control group. The medication was self-administered intranasally 1~2 times per day with an interval of 6 hours for 30 days.. The safety results indicated that the SA58 Nasal Spray was well tolerant. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was 28.6% (497/1736), and the majority of the AEs were mild and from administrative site. 135 COVID-19 cases were identified for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR during the 30-day observation. The cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in the drug group and the control group were 0.026% and 0.116%, respectively. The effectiveness of the SA58 Nasal Spray for preventing COVID-19 infection among medical personnel was evaluated as 77.7% (95% CI: 52.2% - 89.6%). In conclusion, the SA58 Nasal Spray is well-tolerant and highly effective against COVID-19 infection.