'Vaccine patch' could make immunizations cheaper, easier

"An innovative new way to deliver vaccines could drastically improve the health of the third world, and even the first world, by making vaccines cheaper and easier to distribute and use," Business Insider reports, adding, "The 'vaccine patch' would be as easy to apply as a Band-Aid, and would be stable for weeks at room temperature." According to the news service, "The patch differs from the nicotine and birth control patches currently in use," as "[i]t uses tiny 'microneedles' coated in DNA, which is deposited into the very outer layer of the skin." Business Insider adds, "There's still a lot of work left to do to get the patch working in humans and through clinical trials, but when approved, the patch vaccine will have plenty of advantages" (Welsh, 2/14).