The end of painful vaccination jabs is on the horizon after scientists proved that a skin patch is just as effective at inoculating patients and can be applied at home in just a few minutes.

打疫苗的疼痛很快就要終結了，科學家證實，貼在皮膚上的疫苗貼就和注射疫苗一樣有效，而且在家就可以用，幾分鐘就能搞定。

The painless plaster, which contains tiny microscopic needles, could significantly improve the annual take-up for annual vaccinations, such as the flu jab, researchers believe.

這種無痛疫苗貼內含有微針，研究人員認為，這種疫苗貼可以極大地提升每年的疫苗接種率，比如，流感疫苗。

In Britain the NHS recommends that vulnerable adults and children, the elderly, and pregnant women are vaccinated each year, but fewer than 50 percent of pregnant women and only 70 percent of older people received the jab last winter. Many people are scared of needles or do not have the time to visit a doctor or nurse.

英國國家醫療服務體系建議體弱的成人和孩子、老人、孕婦每年都接種疫苗，但去年冬天只有不到50%的孕婦和70%的老人接種了疫苗。許多人都很怕打針，或沒有時間去醫院。

In the first human trial of the patch, involving 100 people, the patch was found to be just as effective as generating immunity for 12 months, and was preferred by the vast majority of those taking part.

這種疫苗貼的首次人體試驗涵蓋了100個人，結果發現疫苗貼也可以有效地保持免疫效果長達一年，而且參加試驗的絕大多數人都更喜歡這種接種方式。

Researchers say the patch is cheaper and could be mailed out so that people could vaccinate themselves in the comfort of their own homes. They are also developing patches for the measles, rubella and polio vaccine.

研究人員表示，疫苗貼更便宜，而且可以寄給人們，讓他們在舒適的家中自行接種。研究人員還正在研制麻疹、風疹和小兒麻痹癥的疫苗貼。

“Traditionally, if you get an influenza vaccine you need to visit a health care professional who will administer the vaccine using a hypodermic needle,” said Dr Mark Prausnitz, Georgia Tech Regents professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

佐治亞理工學院董事化學和生物分子工程學教授馬克?普勞斯尼茨博士說：“傳統上，如果你要接種流感疫苗，你需要去找專業醫療人員，他們會用注射器針頭給你注射疫苗。”

“The vaccine is stored in the refrigerator, and the used needle must be disposed of in a safe manner. With the microneedle patch, you could pick it up at the store and take it home, put it on your skin for a few minutes, peel it off and dispose of it safely, because the microneedles have dissolved away.

“疫苗要儲存在冰箱里，而且用過的針頭要用安全的方式處理掉。有了微針疫苗貼，你可以在商店里買了帶回家，在你的皮膚上貼幾分鐘，然后就可以撕下來安全地處理掉，因為微針會溶解掉。”

“The patches can also be stored outside the refrigerator, so you could even mail them to people.”

“疫苗貼也可以在冰箱外存放，所以你甚至可以郵寄給人們。”

The results of the trial showed that there were no serious side effects with the patch, and local skin reactions were mostly faint redness and mild itching that lasted two to three days.

試驗結果表明，疫苗貼不會產生嚴重的副作用，只會在局部產生一些皮膚反應，大多是輕微的紅腫和瘙癢，兩三天后即可消退。

Antibody responses generated by the vaccine, as measured through analysis of blood samples, were similar to groups who were given the traditional jab.

經過血樣分析得知，疫苗貼引起的抗體反應和接受傳統注射人群的反應是相似的。

After vaccination, imaging of the used patches found that the microneedles had dissolved in the skin, suggesting that the used patches could be safely discarded without the need for specialist waste disposal needed with needles.

在接種完疫苗后，用過的疫苗貼成像顯示，微針已經溶解在皮膚里，這表明用過的疫苗貼可以被安全地扔掉，無需像針頭那樣要經過專業的廢物處理。

More than 70 percent of patch recipients said they would prefer patch vaccination over injection. Researchers are now moving to phase II trials and if successful the patch could be available in just a few years.

超過70%的疫苗貼使用者說，比起注射疫苗，他們更喜歡使用疫苗貼。研究人員目前已經進入第二階段的試驗，如果成功的話，幾年以后疫苗貼就能被推廣使用。

The end of painful vaccination jabs is on the horizon after scientists proved that a skin patch is just as effective at inoculating patients and can be applied at home in just a few minutes.

打疫苗的疼痛很快就要終結了，科學家證實，貼在皮膚上的疫苗貼就和注射疫苗一樣有效，而且在家就可以用，幾分鐘就能搞定。

The painless plaster, which contains tiny microscopic needles, could significantly improve the annual take-up for annual vaccinations, such as the flu jab, researchers believe.

這種無痛疫苗貼內含有微針，研究人員認為，這種疫苗貼可以極大地提升每年的疫苗接種率，比如，流感疫苗。

In Britain the NHS recommends that vulnerable adults and children, the elderly, and pregnant women are vaccinated each year, but fewer than 50 percent of pregnant women and only 70 percent of older people received the jab last winter. Many people are scared of needles or do not have the time to visit a doctor or nurse.

英國國家醫療服務體系建議體弱的成人和孩子、老人、孕婦每年都接種疫苗，但去年冬天只有不到50%的孕婦和70%的老人接種了疫苗。許多人都很怕打針，或沒有時間去醫院。

In the first human trial of the patch, involving 100 people, the patch was found to be just as effective as generating immunity for 12 months, and was preferred by the vast majority of those taking part.

這種疫苗貼的首次人體試驗涵蓋了100個人，結果發現疫苗貼也可以有效地保持免疫效果長達一年，而且參加試驗的絕大多數人都更喜歡這種接種方式。

Researchers say the patch is cheaper and could be mailed out so that people could vaccinate themselves in the comfort of their own homes. They are also developing patches for the measles, rubella and polio vaccine.

研究人員表示，疫苗貼更便宜，而且可以寄給人們，讓他們在舒適的家中自行接種。研究人員還正在研制麻疹、風疹和小兒麻痹癥的疫苗貼。

“Traditionally, if you get an influenza vaccine you need to visit a health care professional who will administer the vaccine using a hypodermic needle,” said Dr Mark Prausnitz, Georgia Tech Regents professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

佐治亞理工學院董事化學和生物分子工程學教授馬克?普勞斯尼茨博士說：“傳統上，如果你要接種流感疫苗，你需要去找專業醫療人員，他們會用注射器針頭給你注射疫苗。”

“The vaccine is stored in the refrigerator, and the used needle must be disposed of in a safe manner. With the microneedle patch, you could pick it up at the store and take it home, put it on your skin for a few minutes, peel it off and dispose of it safely, because the microneedles have dissolved away.

“疫苗要儲存在冰箱里，而且用過的針頭要用安全的方式處理掉。有了微針疫苗貼，你可以在商店里買了帶回家，在你的皮膚上貼幾分鐘，然后就可以撕下來安全地處理掉，因為微針會溶解掉。”

“The patches can also be stored outside the refrigerator, so you could even mail them to people.”

“疫苗貼也可以在冰箱外存放，所以你甚至可以郵寄給人們。”

The results of the trial showed that there were no serious side effects with the patch, and local skin reactions were mostly faint redness and mild itching that lasted two to three days.

試驗結果表明，疫苗貼不會產生嚴重的副作用，只會在局部產生一些皮膚反應，大多是輕微的紅腫和瘙癢，兩三天后即可消退。

Antibody responses generated by the vaccine, as measured through analysis of blood samples, were similar to groups who were given the traditional jab.

經過血樣分析得知，疫苗貼引起的抗體反應和接受傳統注射人群的反應是相似的。

After vaccination, imaging of the used patches found that the microneedles had dissolved in the skin, suggesting that the used patches could be safely discarded without the need for specialist waste disposal needed with needles.

在接種完疫苗后，用過的疫苗貼成像顯示，微針已經溶解在皮膚里，這表明用過的疫苗貼可以被安全地扔掉，無需像針頭那樣要經過專業的廢物處理。

More than 70 percent of patch recipients said they would prefer patch vaccination over injection. Researchers are now moving to phase II trials and if successful the patch could be available in just a few years.

超過70%的疫苗貼使用者說，比起注射疫苗，他們更喜歡使用疫苗貼。研究人員目前已經進入第二階段的試驗，如果成功的話，幾年以后疫苗貼就能被推廣使用。