What if the jab that comes with getting a flu shot could be replaced by painlessly sticking on a patch containing dozens of microneedles?
A group of researchers from Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia State University and a trio of universities in South Korea have been working on a patch that would allow for self-administration of vaccines. In a new study published the September issue of Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, the researchers reported that mice given a single influenza vaccine dose demonstrated 100 percent protection against infection with an influenza virus 14 months later.
The researchers coat the microneedles with dry virus-like particles and a stabilizing agent, so that it doesn’t necessarily need to be refrigerated. When the patch is placed on the skin, the microneedles, which are seven-tenths of a millimeter in length, dissolve into the skin and disperse the vaccine.
In previous mice studies, the researchers found that the microneedle vaccine in some cases induced stronger short-term immune responses in mice than traditional vaccines did.
It would still need to be tested in humans before being made available for public use, but a shelf-stable, self-administered vaccine could solve a host of issues related to vaccines including decreased pain, increased convenience, lower cost, smaller amount of vaccine needed and better reach to remote communities. Only 42 percent of Americans got the flu shot in 2011-2012, according to the CDC. And while influenza is also health threat in developing countries, many of them face unique challenges with access to vaccines.
