  The radioactive isotope $^{22}$Na is one of the primary tracer isotopes that
may potentially be detectable by gamma-ray spectroscopy. This isotope is
predicted to be produced in ONe nova explosions, yet no detection of its 1.275
MeV gamma-ray signature has been reported so far. In particular, 6 years of
COMPTEL observations of the galactic bulge, a region that should be
particularily rich in nova explosions, have only led to an upper-limit. In this
paper we will present the implications of the COMPTEL upper flux limit on the
permissible $^{22}$Na yield for ONe novae. We base our analysis on extensive
Monte-Carlo simulations of galactic 1.275 MeV emission that were constrained by
the most recent results of galactic nova rates and distributions. We
demonstrate that the non-detection of the 1.275 MeV line from the galactic
bulge implies a solid upper $^{22}$Na yield limit in agreement with current
theoretical nucleosynthesis calculations.
