It’s soon to be that time of year again, flu season. And along with the chance of catching a cold or the flu, there’s flu shots to worry about. There’s the lines, the needles, and the plethora of side effects that may come with the whole experience. It’s not pretty.
But researchers at Georgia State University have been tinkering with a way to rid the flu shot experience of all its nasty components. They’ve developed a microneedle patch that you can self-administer that painlessly dissolves into the skin, according to CNET.
The vaccine uses dry virus particles instead of a liquid that contains a dead virus. This way, the vaccine can be administered through the skin. The dry virus vaccine also has a more precise method of delivering the virus into your body, meaning less dosage is required compared to regular flu shot needles, which also lowers the chance of side effects. Pair this with the fact that these new vaccines are painless and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Not only that, the researchers’ study published in Clinical and Vaccine Immunology states that this new flu shot is also more successful than traditional needles.
So you’ve got a new flu shot that’s less painless, lowers the risk of side effects, can be administered in your home and will protect you better than hypodermic flu shots. So what’s the downside? The researchers have only tested on mice so far, so it will take a while for the new flu shot to be injected into the market.
