No more flu shots? These painless disposable patches may soon replace needles

Image courtesy: Georgia Tech

New Delhi: Vaccines are a pain – literally. No one likes needles piercing their body, especially ones that painfully inject medicines.

However, unfortunately, they are the best option when it comes to immunisation against seasonal infections like flu.

Flu shots are a common thing nowadays. With pollution levels running high, one is bound to catch an infection unless you take precautionary measures.

After completing a preliminary trial, researchers have found a way out! You will be happy to know that painful flu shots may just become a thing of the past.

In a development that could probably do away with needles and syringes for good, researchers have created painless throw-away patch. Equipped with micro-needles, the patches vaccinated against influenza just as effectively as a standard flu jab, they reported in the medical journal The Lancet.

"This bandage-strip sized patch of dissolvable needles can transform how we get vaccinated," said Roderic Pettigrew, director of the US National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, which funded the study.

The new technology can be self-administered and stored without refrigeration, making it significantly cheaper that traditional vaccines.

"It holds the promise for delivering other vaccines in the future," Pettigrew added.

A hundred tiny needles – just long enough to penetrate the skin – embedded in each patch dissolve within minutes when exposed to moisture from the body.

Adhesive holds the patch close the skin while the vaccine is released, and can be peeled away after 20 minutes and discarded.

In phase I clinical trials, researchers from Emory University in Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology randomly divided 100 adults into four groups.

Three received the micro-needle patches: one delivered by a healthcare provider; one self-administered; and the third – delivered by a nurse – a placebo without any active ingredients.

The fourth group received a classic flu jab with a syringe.

All the active flu vaccines worked equally well for at least six months.

The manufacturing cost for the patches is expected to be about the same as for pre-filled syringes.

In addition, it does not require refrigeration, the researchers said.

(With AFP inputs)