The end of painful vaccination¹ jabs is on the horizon after scientists proved that a skin patch is just as effective at inoculating² patients and can be applied³ at home in just a few minutes.

打疫苗的疼痛很快就要终结了，科学家证实，贴在皮肤上的疫苗贴就和注射疫苗一样有效，而且在家就可以用，几分钟就能搞定。

The painless plaster, which contains tiny microscopic⁴ needles, could significantly improve the annual take-up for annual vaccinations⁵, such as the flu jab, researchers believe.

这种无痛疫苗贴内含有微针，研究人员认为，这种疫苗贴可以极大地提升每年的疫苗接种率，比如，流感疫苗。

In Britain the NHS recommends that vulnerable adults and children, the elderly, and pregnant women are vaccinated⁷ 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.

英国国家医疗服务体系建议体弱的成人和孩子、老人、孕妇每年都接种疫苗，但去年冬天只有不到50%的孕妇和70%的老人接种了疫苗。许多人都很怕打针，或没有时间去医院。

In the first human trial of the patch, involving 100 people, the patch was found to be just as effective as generating immunity⁸ for 12 months, and was preferred by the vast majority of those taking part.

这种疫苗贴的首次人体试验涵盖了100个人，结果发现疫苗贴也可以有效地保持免疫效果长达一年，而且参加试验的绝大多数人都更喜欢这种接种方式。

Researchers say the patch is cheaper and could be mailed out so that people could vaccinate⁶ themselves in the comfort of their own homes. They are also developing patches for the measles⁹, rubella and polio vaccine¹⁰.

研究人员表示，疫苗贴更便宜，而且可以寄给人们，让他们在舒适的家中自行接种。研究人员还正在研制麻疹、风疹和小儿麻痹症的疫苗贴。

“Traditionally, if you get an influenza¹¹ 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.

佐治亚理工学院董事化学和生物分子工程学教授马克•普劳斯尼茨博士说：“传统上，如果你要接种流感疫苗，你需要去找专业医疗人员，他们会用注射器针头给你注射疫苗。”

“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.

“疫苗要储存在冰箱里，而且用过的针头要用安全的方式处理掉。有了微针疫苗贴，你可以在商店里买了带回家，在你的皮肤上贴几分钟，然后就可以撕下来安全地处理掉，因为微针会溶解掉。”

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

“疫苗贴也可以在冰箱外存放，所以你甚至可以邮寄给人们。”

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 itching¹² that lasted two to three days.

试验结果表明，疫苗贴不会产生严重的副作用，只会在局部产生一些皮肤反应，大多是轻微的红肿和瘙痒，两三天后即可消退。

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

经过血样分析得知，疫苗贴引起的抗体反应和接受传统注射人群的反应是相似的。

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.

在接种完疫苗后，用过的疫苗贴成像显示，微针已经溶解在皮肤里，这表明用过的疫苗贴可以被安全地扔掉，无需像针头那样要经过专业的废物处理。

More than 70 percent of patch recipients¹³ 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.

超过70%的疫苗贴使用者说，比起注射疫苗，他们更喜欢使用疫苗贴。研究人员目前已经进入第二阶段的试验，如果成功的话，几年以后疫苗贴就能被推广使用。