New Vaccination Method Protects Against Influenza
Most people think of influenza as a common health problem -- not a serious condition.
Yet an influenza infection can be deadly, especially in older adults, young children and people with weak or failing health.
Every year, less than half of all adult Americans who should have a flu vaccine actually get one.
Now, scientists have developed a treatment that may soon take the pain out of flu vaccines.
Nadine Rouphael is a professor of infectious diseases at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia. She was the lead investigator for testing of the influenza skin patch.
Rouphael explained that the patch has very small needles that contain the flu vaccine. She said the needles completely melt into the skin.
Patients wear the patch for just a few minutes. Then, the material can be thrown away.
Rouphael says it was as safe and effective as the common needle injection. There were few harmful effects, including a small amount of redness and swelling, which lasted a few days.
The investigators wrote in their report that, six months after the vaccination, both the common needle and patch methods offered similar protection.
Rouphael says 70 percent of those who used the patch liked it more than an injection.
