Needle or a skin patch? Which one would you pick?
Flu vaccine shots have always been delivered by a needle. Not everyone is calm about this process to the point that some people will go to great lengths to avoid getting a needle.
Researchers in the the United States are working on a hi-tech skin patch which will deliver the vaccine painlessly. The patch has microscopic needles which dissolve into the skin. The patch which was developed at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology has 100 micro-needles which are 0.65mm long.
The tests that have been done on mice show that this method is more effective and produces a better immune response than a conventional needle. It is easy to use and the future could be that you buy your patch at the pharmacy and apply it yourself. It is hopefully going to be that easy and simple to use.
Your health care or medical insurance costs would be cut because you don't need help to administer the vaccine. The patch would be like other prescribed medicines and covered under your group plan or excess medical plan.
It's not exactly the medicine Dr. McCoy practiced on Star Trek, but it's getting closer!
