This painless vaccination mechanism potentially represents a game-changing innovation in medical science.
Needlephobes of the world, rejoice. Scientists at the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia have designed a topical device that is capable of conferring immunity to COVID-19 without inflicting pain. Commonly described as a “vaccination patch,” the device resembles a makeup compact in size and shape, according to a video published by 9news.com.au. The patch was developed by the UQ-affiliated company Vaxxas in partnership with the University of Texas, which, per UT News, the school’s online newsletter, is currently in the process of testing its own COVID-19 vaccine candidate. When pressed against the skin, the patch introduces the candidate, HexaPro, into the bloodstream via thousands of minute microprojections that puncture only the outermost layers of the epidermis, according to The Brisbane Times. “[W]hen we apply it via a spring-loaded applicator, it feels a lot just like a flick,” one of the scientists, David Muller, told 9news.
