MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. /TASS/. Nasal coronavirus vaccines have big advantages in terms of herd immunity because a person cannot transmit the virus after vaccination, Alexander Gintsburg, director of Russia’s Gamaleya Center, said on Sunday.

"Intranasal vaccination gives serious advantages in terms of herd immunity. A person will never transmit this infection after receiving a nasal vaccine. A person vaccinated with a regular jab will not catch the disease but may have the virus on his or her mucosae and, hence, can transmit it to unvaccinated people when coughing or sneezing," he said in an interview with the documentary "Dangerous Virus. The Second Year" aired by the Rossiya-1 television channel.

On November 27, Gintsburg announced the beginning of clinical tests of a nasal coronavirus vaccine.

In October, the Gamaleya Center received a Russian health ministry’s permit for the second phase of clinical tests of a nasal form of the coronavirus vaccine. The Center’s director Alexander Gintsburg said that the nasal form would be an addition to the regular vaccine to ensure an extra barrier to the infection. The tests began on November 27.