A recently published new study in mouse testing needle-free vaccine showed promising results. The said work was in response to researchers' doubling down on initiatives to create effective vaccines sans the needle, a development that could transform medicine.
According to a Science Alert report, this approach could help convince children to get injected in the fight against COVID-19. Specifically, it could help save tears of these young ones at doctors' offices and help those who have a phobia of syringes.
Beyond that, skin patches could help with the distribution initiatives as they do not have cold-chain requirements, not to mention, might even heighten the efficacy of the vaccine.
The team of Australian-United States researchers used patches measuring one square centimeter that was dotted with over 5,000 microscopic spikes, that, according to a virologist at the University of Queensland and co-author of the study, is so small "you can't see them.
More Effective Than Injection
Such tips have been coated with an experimental vaccine, and the patch is clicked on with an applicator resembling a hockey puck. Muller added, the patch is like one gets "a good flick on the skin."
Moreover, the team used a so-called "subunit" vaccine that replicates the spikes, dotting the surface of the coronavirus.
Mouse models were inoculated either through the patch over a two-minute course or using a syringe. The immune systems of the mice that received high levels of neutralizing antibodies following two doses, including in their lungs, were essential to stopping COVID-19 and the patches beating the syringes.
In the study published in Science Advances, researchers also discovered that a sub-group of mice given a single dose of the vaccine that contained an additional substance known as an adjuvant used to spur the immune system did not fall ill at all.
Logistical Benefits Seemingly Unclear
Also, according to Muller, vaccines are typically injected into the muscle, although muscle tissue does not have many immune cell content needed to react to the drug.
On top of that, a similar report by The Journal Daily specified, the small spikes are causing localized skin death, which is alerting the body to a problem, not to mention triggering a greater immune response. For this scientist, the logistical benefits could not be clearer.
First, when the vaccine is dry-coated on a patch, the vaccine is stable for approximately 30 days at 25 degrees Celsius, and one week at 40 degrees Celsius, compared to a few hours at room temperatures for other vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna. This provides a major benefit specifically for developing nations.
Second, Muller continued, the patch is quite simple to apply; it does not necessarily need well-trained medical professionals to administer it.
Engineering professor Burak Ozdoganlar, from Carnegie Mellon University in the US city of Pittsburgh, has also been working on this particular technology since 2007.
300 to 400 Patches Each Day
In his work, he sees another advantage: less vaccine amount delivered accurately to the skin can stimulate an immune response akin to an intramuscular injection. It is an essential factor as the developing nation world is struggling to produce enough COVID-19 vaccines.
Osdoganlar can produce roughly 300 to 400 patches each day in his laboratory although he has not been able to try them on mRNA vaccines, which have come to the forefront during the pandemic since either Moderna or Pfizer has not authorized him.
Seasonal COVID-19 and Flu Combination Product in the Works
According to Michael Schrader, Vaxass CEO, they're currently working on a seasonal COVID-19 and flu combination product that will be directly mailed to homes of patients for self-administration.
The COVID-19 vaccine they're using is produced by Medigen, an already authorized company in Taiwan. Vaxess has just opened a factory close to Boston, with financial backing from the US National Institutes for Health.
Their objective is to produce enough patches to vaccinate 2,000 to 3,000 individuals in clinical trials, set for launch next summer.
Report about the needle-free vaccine is shown on 9 News Australia's YouTube video below:
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