Research

To Wax or not to Wax: The Future of Vaccination

Perhaps you can relate to the pain of waxing…but what if the person who did it for you was your family doctor? If research surrounding new types of vaccines pans out, it may become a reality. To the relief of children everywhere, researchers are trying to find new ways of giving vaccines – without needles.
The tricky part of this approach is getting the vaccines past the outer-most layer of our skin. So what solution did researchers come up with?  Well, scientists recently discovered what some of you may have known for years – that waxing with warm wax is ideal. Seriously, researchers found that we must first remove the hair on our skin by waxing. This way the needle-free vaccines (e.g. creams) can enter our skin through hair follicles.
What kinds of vaccines could be delivered this way?  Aside from the ones that we’re all familiar with, researchers are designing new-and-improved DNA vaccines. This way, we can give cells instruction manuals on everything from self-repair to protecting themselves from infections.

About the author

Melissa Carmen Cheung, PhD

Passionate about sharing science with the public in a fun and accessible way, Melissa is a Medical Communications professional who earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Toronto. Though her research focused on the design of novel cancer therapeutics, Melissa is intrigued by all facets of science. Her goal in life is to captivate people with the same excitement she feels for science.

2 Comments

  • This is interesting and a simple read as always! Wonder how long that would be, and how long would it be until science finds a way to have blood tests without needles….(we can but dream)