\u00a0By\u00a0Angelica Stabile\u00a0Fox News<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel speaks with Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary about policy changes for COVID-19 vaccine mandates on \u2018Special Report.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A new study has discovered another way to potentially prevent COVID-19.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers at Saarland University in Germany headed a clinical trial that found a nasal spray could reduce the risk of coronavirus infection by two-thirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phase 2 study<\/a>, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, ran from March 2023 to July 2024 at Saarland University Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NEW COVID VARIANT MAY CAUSE ‘RAZOR BLADE THROAT’ \u2014 HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 450 healthy adult participants were randomly assigned to receive either the azelastine nasal spray or a placebo, three times per day for 56 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers conducted SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen testing twice a week to diagnose infection. People who had symptoms but received negative antigen test results underwent multiple PCR tests for respiratory viruses.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Azelastine nasal spray could potentially delay COVID-19 infection, according to new research. (iStock)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the 227 individuals who received the azelastine nasal spray, rates of confirmed COVID infection were “significantly lower” at 2.2%, compared with 6.7% for the placebo group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The researchers also noted an increase in the period before infection for the people taking azelastine. In these patients, the medication was linked to a lower rate of PCR-confirmed symptomatic infections and fewer confirmed rhinovirus infections (the primary cause of the common cold<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Azelastine nasal spray may also help prevent other respiratory viruses, the researchers found. (iStock)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “In this single-center trial, azelastine nasal spray<\/a> was associated with reduced risk of SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infections,” the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Azelastine has been available as an over-the-counter treatment for hay fever, according to a press release from Saarland University, and has previously been suggested to have an anti-viral effect against COVID and other\u00a0respiratory viruses<\/a>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lead trial researcher Professor Robert Bals, director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Saarland University Medical Center, commented in a statement that the trial has demonstrated azelastine\u2019s impact in a “real-world setting.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Azelastine led to a reduction in the number of PCR-confirmed symptomatic infections, according to the study. (iStock)<\/p>\n\n\n\n