Flu vaccine patches may be future of immunization

GETTING a flu shot may soon be outdated, thanks to the findings of a new study* published in the journal Vaccine. The research, which involved nearly 100 people recruited in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, found that test subjects could successfully apply a prototype vaccine patch to themselves.

The results indicate that the self-administration of vaccines with microneedle patches may one day be feasible, potentially reducing administration costs and relieving an annual burden on health care professionals.

The use of vaccine patches might increase the rate at which the population is vaccinated against influenza, study also suggests. After comparing simulated vaccine administration using a patch and by conventional injection, the percentage of test subjects who said they’d be vaccinated grew from 46 percent to 65 percent.

“Our dream is that each year there would be flu vaccine patches available in stores or sent by mail for people to self-administer,” said Mark Prausnitz, a Regent’s professor in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “People could take them home and apply them to the whole family. We want to get more people vaccinated, and we want to relieve health care professionals from the burden of giving these millions of vaccinations.”

Professor Prausnitz is also an inventor on patents that have been licensed to companies developing microneedle-based products, a paid advisor to companies developing microneedle-based products, and is a founder/shareholder of companies developing microneedle-based products. If all goes well, the vaccine patch could be available within five years, and he expected them to be administered first by health care professionals before being made available for self-administration.

In addition to Georgia Tech researchers, the project also included scientists from Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Research into the use of microneedle patches for influenza vaccination has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States.

The research on patient acceptance of vaccine patch immunization was published online February 11, 2014, by the journal Vaccine and will appear in a later edition of the print journal.

The study is believed to be the first published report of a head-to-head comparison between microneedle patches and traditional intramuscular injection for the administration of vaccines in human subjects.

Painless patch

The patches consisted of arrays of 50 microscopic needles about as tall as the thickness of a few hairs. When used for vaccination, the patches would be pressed painlessly onto a person’s forearm to carry vaccine into the outer layers of skin, where they would prompt an immune reaction from the body.

The 91 study subjects, who had no previous experience with microneedle patches, were given brief instructions on applying the patches to themselves. Each volunteer applied three patches, had a fourth patch applied by a member of the research team, and received an injection of saline with a conventional hypodermic needle. Neither the patches nor the hypodermic needle actually carried a vaccine, and the study did not assessAir Jordan XIII CP3