It’s one of the world’s most common fears.  People just don’t like being stabbed with needles.  When it comes to the flu vaccine, that’s doubly true, as the flu vaccine not only causes pain when you get it, it also causes a low-grade fever after you’ve gotten your sticking.  Granted, it does keep you from getting the flu, but it does make you feel ill.  Fortunately for those afraid of needles, a cooperative team of scientists spread across the Atlanta, Georgia, campuses of Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology (AKA Georgia Tech) have combined to develop needle-free vaccination patches to spread immunizations!

“We envision people getting the patch in the mail or at a pharmacy and then self-administering it at home,” said Sean Sullivan, the head of the Georgia Tech side of the study.  “Because the microneedles on the patch dissolve away into the skin, there would be no dangerous sharp needles left over.”

The patch works on the principle of microneedles.  Most vaccinations simply have to get under the skin, and the tiny invisible needles on the patch got a test load of the flu vaccine just far enough under the skin to be effective.  Even better, the needles dissolve into the skin after injection, so rather than a deep, painful stab with a needle you’ve got, well… nothing.

Tags: vaccine patch, vaccines, vaccine in patch form, unusual medical news, replacing needles in vaccines, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech, Sean Sullivan

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