New flu ‘shot’ idea could put millions more at risk

Believe it or not, another way to sell us on the flu vaccine is in the works. Only this method is one of the worst ideas I’ve heard so far.

It involves giving yourself the vaccine with a patch instead of a shot.

You have Mark Prausnitz, a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology, to thank for this bright idea.

“Our dream is that each year there would be flu vaccine patches available in stores or sent by mail for people to self-administer,” said Prausnitz.

The patch itself, covered with 50 tiny needles that slightly penetrate the skin, was recently tested on 91 volunteers to see if they could follow the instructions.

That went well, so now the professor and his team are working with an unnamed drug company to test it with a real flu vaccine next year.

Researchers expect this idea to “greatly” increase the numbers of people getting flu shots.

And, no doubt it will increase the numbers of people who get something a lot more serious than just a runny nose.

Sources:
“Slap on a flu patch? New vaccine would skip the needle” Maggie Fox, February 28, 2014, NBC News, nbcnews.com