While the fear of needles still slows down many vaccination campaigns, science is preparing the next generation: an innovative vaccination technology, without bite, is talked about. It would be more efficient, more comfortable and just as reliable.
Dental wire, new vaccine vector
Forget the injections: researchers have just tested a method based on … the dental wire! Vaccine plaster, it is applied at the gum level, in the “gingival pocket”, where the natural permeability of the tissues allows molecules to effectively reach the immune system. The tests carried out on animals, then on volunteer adults, demonstrate “a high absorption rate of the vaccine and good tolerance”.
What advantages compared to other methods?
Beyond the absence of a needle, this path of administration is clearly distinguished from the nasal spray. The vaccine dental thread targets a very specific oral zone: the junctional epithelium, more accessible and secure than the nasal mucosa. This decreases the risks of unwanted passage of substances in the brain, while generating a powerful immune response, especially in the lungs and nose.
What prospects?
Easy to handle, painless, this innovation does not generate any particular additional cost compared to existing methods, note the researchers. For phobic people of the bite or for pediatric vaccination, the prospect of a oral vaccine could raise many brakes.
However, if the results are very promising, the method is only at the first clinical trials: larger -scale studies are still necessary to validate its safety and effectiveness on the general population. Nevertheless, the door is open to new medical devices, which could transform our health experiences … and, why not, make the needle from the vaccination landscape disappear.