Does your heart break every time you bring your little one in for a vaccine? Soon you may be able to skip the needles altogether, along with the screams and the mommy (or daddy) guilt. Several research companies are working on alternatives to the normal vaccine delivery by needle. One of the most promising products consists of a gel patch that parents would receive in the mail.
Once received in the mail, the parent would apply the patch to a little one’s back, where it will deliver the vaccine painlessly before dissolving. It does pierce the skin through a series of small micro needles (more about micro needles below), but this piercing supposedly not noticed by the patient. Not only does it avoid the pain of the traditional vaccine, but it also solves the problem of having to make and attend an office visit.
I have several questions about the vaccine patch. How long does it take to dissolve, and do you have to avoid normal activities, such as baths or playing in the sprinklers on a hot summer day? What happens if the patch falls off? How would you know if enough vaccine was delivered to your child? An even scarier thought…what if a baby or toddler somehow gets the patch off and chews on it or eats it?
Currently, there are other delivery methods out there for certain vaccines, such as the FluMist nasal spray to protect against the flu, and certain oral vaccines for rotavirus.
Another delivery method that is currently being researched is one that uses a series of micro needles that cause less pain than traditional needles and can be self-administered–well in the case of a child, administered by a parent or caregiver. Currently, it is only being tested for use with the vaccine against H5N1 Avian Influenza or bird flu.
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