Potential for a painless way to deliver flu protection has vaccine makers in Europe and the U.S. seeking regulatory approval, for injections that are only skin deep. A Madison company that was a spin-off from UW Madison is among those testing what’s called intradermal delivery.
A shortage in 2004 spurred research in ways to stretch the vaccine supply. Dr. Jon Tempte is a UW-Madison Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the UW Hospital, and is on a Center for Disease Control advisory flu panel, the Committee for Immunization Practices. He says intradermal delivery appears to use one-fifth the vaccine of a regular shot to deliver flu immunity. Previous U.S. studies show there can be side effects, but Tempte says they tend to be localized and minor. (Eighth item.)