An adhesive padinstead of a vaccine, placed in the arm can save millions of children from its complications measles

According to the BBC, the scientists who made this discovery claim that this method is easier and more effective. In fact, the first test was done on 200 Gambian children.

The patch, also known as a patch, is easier to transport and store than standard injections, especially in remote areas.

Despite the fact that there is an effective vaccine against measles, since the Covid pandemic millions of children around the world, especially in low and middle income countries, have been left exposed to the childhood disease.

But now scientists hope the microneedle technology in the patch can get vaccinations back on track, with 95% of children vaccinated.

The patch sticks to the arm and many tiny needles deliver the vaccine through the skin, painlessly.

“These are extremely promising results which have generated a lot of excitement,” said pediatrician Professor Ed Clarke, head of vaccines and immunity at the Medical Research Council Unit at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine The Gambia, adding: “They demonstrate for the first time that vaccines can be safely and effectively administered to babies and young children using patch microarray technology.’

In the trial, which involved more than 200 healthy toddlers and babies, the immune response to the patch was as strong as the vaccine.

After one dose, more than 90% of babies were protected from measles and all infants from rubella – and there were no safety concerns.

The patch remained in place for five minutes – but this will be reduced to a minute or even less in future trials, the researchers say.

The researchers believe that this practice could eventually be used against other diseases.

Advantages

The patch has several advantages over needle injections – volunteers with minimal training can apply the patch, rather than doctors and nurses, and refrigerators are no longer needed for transport and refrigerated storage. It also reduces people’s fears of needles and the risk of injury from them.

Even in countries like the UK, where there is no shortage of these resources, the patches could be more convenient and attractive to some parents of young unvaccinated children, the researchers say.

The latest figures for England show measles cases to increase, mwith a particular rise in recent weeks in London, where some areas have low measles vaccination rates.

In these communities, it only takes one child to contract measles for it to spread quickly, health experts warn.

Larger trials in young unvaccinated children are now being planned to see if the patches could become more widely available.