Vaccine patches may replace injections for many people before long

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – One of the reasons many people hesitate to get vaccinated – whether it’s for COVID-19 or something else – is fear, or at least aversion to injections.

But the researchers are working on another way to deliver the vaccines that they say are painless, eliminate the need for injections, and are self-administered: vaccine patches.

Teams from the University of North Carolina and Stanford University are developing the fixes, reports CBS Raleigh, the North Carolina affiliate of WNCN-TV.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to a quarter of adults and most children dislike needles. For some, it is so bad that it prevents them from getting vaccinated. But one day the needles, at least the ones people are used to, may not be needed anymore.

Dr Joseph DeSimone worked at UNC for 30 years. He’s now at Stanford, but he and his colleagues are still working with researchers at UNC on a tiny patch that can deliver vaccines when applied to the skin.

“Our approach was to directly 3D print the microneedles using a breakthrough in 3D printing that we started when I was in Chapel Hill,” he told WNCN.

The micro needles on the patch are so small that they are barely noticeable.

“It’s painless and anxiety free,” DeSimone said, adding that the patch is also more effective than traditional injections. “We have 100 to 1,000 times more targeted immune cells in the dermis of our skin than in our muscles.”

This means that smaller amounts of the vaccine would be needed. It would also mean that doses would not need to be kept as cold as vaccines used in liquid form.

“When you think of global access, you’re going to need things like this,” DeSimone pointed out.

Currently, the patch is being tested on animals. DeSimone said the results are promising and that within five years he expects people to use the patches regularly.

“They can be self-administered. You wouldn’t need a healthcare worker,” he said. “They could be delivered by UPS or Amazon.”