Health Professionals Petition WHO for Guidance: People Should Use Nasal Sprays to Combat COVID-19 Pandemic; Doctors Use in Treating Patients
25.1.2021 11:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Today, a consortium of health professionals petitioned the World Health Organization to issue Guidance calling on: all people to use nasal sprays to combat the COVID-19 pandemic; doctors to use them in treating COVID-19 patients; and, Member-States to implement public health policies promoting the use of nasal sprays to both prevent and treat COVID-19.
The petition asks the WHO to promulgate guidance that promotes the use of nasal sprays with data indicating that they are antiviral (blocks viral adhesion), virucidal (kills or deactivates the virus), anti-bacterial (block bacteria, in particular pneumonia bacteria) and bactericidal (kills bacteria, in particular pneumonia bacteria).
“We have data showing that certain nasal sprays don’t just wash away the virus. Certain sprays actually block, deactivate and/or kill the virus,” said Dr. Gustavo Ferrer, a respiratory illness expert who has conducted research on the use of nasal sprays to combat COVID-19, and is among the petitioners.
As a result, the petition calls specifically for WHO Guidance to focus on the use of nasal sprays that contain Xylitol and grapefruit seed extract. Recent studies have found that these natural components used together are antiviral (they block SARS-CoV-2 adhesion to the nasal membrane) and virucidal (they kill or deactivate the virus). One such spray, Xlear, is currently widely available in the US. Xlear has been used by millions of people worldwide, over twenty-plus years, without any adverse effects reported.
Additionally, a new, small clinical study found Xlear lessens the severity and shortens the duration of COVID-19 illnesses, and reduces the risk of further transmission, which is why the petition calls for guidance to doctors to use it as an adjunct to current treatments.
“Nasal sprays are proven safe, inexpensive, non-invasive, easy to use and you can get them off-the-shelf at your local store around the world. There is a growing body of data that sprays, in particular Xlear, can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s pure commonsense,” Nathan Jones, CEO of Xlear said.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210125005242/en/
Contact information
Jeff Gulko
617.304.7339
jeff@thegulkogroup.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
CYNREN Launches Next Generation Advisory Firm Serving Family Offices, Funds and Institutions8.5.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
CYNREN today announced its launch as an independent international advisory firm, built for a world where capital, technology and geopolitics now heavily intersect. Unlike traditional consulting firms, CYNREN combines institutional capability and experience with the agility of a true challenger model to operate at the highest level of advisory and execution. CYNREN was co-founded by Anthony Cowell, Sunil Nair and Scott Lennon, specializing in family office, fiduciary and directorship roles, board-level strategy, impact and philanthropic structuring and complex risk consulting. The firm is partner-led around the moments that matter most, with AI embedded from inception to enable sharper insights and more informed outcomes while remaining grounded in human judgement. Operating globally through a network of senior advisors, investors and partners, CYNREN serves clients across the globe. Cowell was previously a Global Lead Engagement Partner with KPMG, Regional Head of Asset Management and
Telekom Srbija Secures U.S. EXIM Financing to Accelerate 5G Rollout8.5.2026 12:48:00 EEST | Press release
Telekom Srbija Group today announced that the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) has granted final approval for financing to support the continued rollout of Telekom Srbija’s 5G network. The EXIM-supported financing will help fund the deployment of 5G telecommunications network equipment and related services in Serbia, supplied by U.S. technology companies. It marks a major milestone in Telekom Srbija’s long-term investment programme and strengthens the company’s relationship with leading U.S. financial and technology institutions. Telekom Srbija launched commercial 5G services in Serbia in December 2025 and is continuing to expand coverage nationwide. The company is targeting 5G coverage across all Serbian cities by the end of 2026, with full national coverage by the end of 2027. The financing follows EXIM’s preliminary commitment in December 2024 to support the preparation and rollout of Telekom Srbija’s 5G network, and marks a further step in Telekom Srbija’s cooperation
Philip Morris International’s Moira Gilchrist Positions Human Judgment as a Critical Leadership Advantage Amid Rapid AI Adoption at Wall Street Journal Forum8.5.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Philip Morris International’s (PMI) (NYSE:PM) Chief Global Communications Officer, Moira Gilchrist, joined global thought leaders at The Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything conference in New York to examine why human cognition—judgment, context, creativity, and ethical reasoning—is becoming the most valuable asset in an age of artificial intelligence. “The AI boom is putting a premium on distinctly human capabilities,” said Gilchrist, who took part in the session “Cognition: The New Currency – Why Human Judgment Matters More Than Ever.” Speaking to attendees, she emphasized that, “As knowledge is getting democratized, human judgment, intuition, and creativity become the true differentiators that leaders need to nurture across all levels of their organizations.” Philip Morris International is today a different company, built with a singular objective: achieving a smoke-free future. It has evolved its product portfolio, reskilled its workforce, and adopted new ways of working to e
Fortegra Appoints Iwan Röpcke as Chief Executive Officer, Belgium8.5.2026 10:30:00 EEST | Press release
The Fortegra Group, Inc., a global specialty insurer, today announced the appointment of Iwan Röpcke as Chief Executive Officer, Belgium. Mr. Röpcke brings more than 25 years of insurance industry experience to the role, spanning broking, commercial leadership, and executive management across the Benelux and broader European markets. He joins Fortegra from Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A., where he served as Country Manager for Belgium and the Netherlands, building out the operation from its early stages and overseeing both business strategy and development. Prior to Lloyd's, Mr. Röpcke held senior leadership positions at Willis Towers Watson (via Gras Savoye), where he served as Head of Sales and Head of the Competence Center. His career also includes roles at Inter Partner Assistance (AXA Assistance) as Commercial Director Benelux, Winterthur Europe Assurances, AIG Europe, Aon Belgium, and Marsh. Mr. Röpcke’s industry expertise spans a range of specialty risk areas, with deep relations
KAYTUS Launches All-QLC Flash Storage at AI EXPO 2026 for 10,000-GPU Clusters8.5.2026 10:02:00 EEST | Press release
At AI EXPO KOREA 2026, KAYTUS officially launched its All-QLC Flash Storage Solution, engineered to deliver high performance, massive scalability, and cost efficiency for 10,000-GPU clusters. The solution addresses data-delivery bottlenecks in ultra-large-scale AI training, helping maximize GPU resource utilization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508313130/en/ Based on the KR2280 and KR1180 server platforms, the solution is deeply integrated with industry-leading AI-native parallel file systems to eliminate data silos inherent in traditional tiered storage. Purpose-built for read-intensive AI workloads, it overcomes the horizontal scaling limitations of massive clusters. Verified test-data shows that, at exabyte-scale deployment, the solution delivers 10 TB/s aggregate bandwidth and 100 million IOPS. In addition, it reduces five-year TCO by 70% compared with traditional TLC-based solutions, accelerating mo
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom