Study: COVID-19 skin patch may work better than traditional shots

BOSTON - A new study finds that a COVID vaccine skin patch may work better than traditional shots, which is welcome news for those who don't like needles.

Currently, available COVID vaccines provide some protection against infection with the omicron variant but that immunity wanes quickly.

Researchers in Australia have now found a patch that delivers a vaccine directly into the skin, rich in immune cells, and produces a much larger antibody response against the omicron variant compared to the same vaccine delivered by needle and syringe.

The patches are stable at room temperature, require a smaller amount of vaccine, and are easier to administer. They now need to be studied in human clinical trials.

COVID-19

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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