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New Flu Vaccines May Skip Needles

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The Associated Press

Published: January 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - Relief may be on the way for all those youngsters trembling at the thought of another needle jab. One day the flu vaccine may simply be placed under the tongue.
Korean researchers say the new vaccine worked in mice, avoiding not only the painful prick but also the discomfort some people feel from the inhaled vaccine.

The team led by Mi-Na Kweon of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul reported its findings in Monday's online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Better ways of delivering vaccine have long been under study, including oral and inhaled methods, but all seem to have drawbacks.

Now, Kweon and colleagues say, two doses of influenza vaccine under the tongue of mice primed the animals' immune system to fight off what would otherwise have been a deadly dose of flu.

Next, they are turning their attention to people, to see whether the under-the-tongue vaccine also prompts a strong immune response.

Placing a couple of drops of liquid under the tongue gets the vaccine directly to mucus membranes and prompts a response in mucus tissues throughout the body as well as in the immune system itself, the researchers said.

"These studies provide a basis for further human testing of this alternative form of needle-free vaccination. Aside from its convenience, sublingual vaccination appears to disseminate immunity to a broader range of organs than the classical routes of injecting or ingesting vaccines," said Cecil Czerkinsky, deputy director-general for laboratory science at the institute.

"If these findings are replicated in humans, they could pave the way for the development of a new generation of vaccines that could be used for mass vaccination against respiratory infections, including the pandemic avian-human influenza viruses," he said in a statement.

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