Designing A More Efficient, Temperature-Proof Vaccine

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

If they’re not stored within a narrow temperature range of 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit, vaccines become unusable. Millions of doses are lost in the developing world each year for want of better-performing fridges and more storage space. The U.S. is not exempt from these issues: Recently, a doctor in New Jersey was accused of putting 900 kids at risk because he didn’t adhere to required conditions when storing his vaccinations against measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox, and other diseases.

To complement that work, Vaxess is now working on a new vaccine-delivery system: a slow-release skin patch for polio and measles-rubella vaccines. The patches are made up of microneedles, which transfer the vaccines through the dermal layer.

Source: Fast Coexist (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Health Care
Tags
public health, research, vaccines