FDA OKs Flu Shot With Smaller Needle
Bill Hendrick Staff Writer
May 12, 2011 (WebMD Health News)– The FDA has approved the first flu shot to be injected with a tiny needle into a skin layer called the dermis rather than into muscle.
The new needle is expected to be available for adults for the 2011-2012 flu season.
The French drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur says the company’s Fluzone Intradermal vaccine will be administered with a needle less than one-tenth of an inch long. That’s 90% shorter than those used now in the U.S., and therefore won’t need to be inserted as deeply.
In general, current influenza shots are injected deep into muscle tissue with a needle that can be 1 to 1.5 inches long.
