Study published in Heliyon Journal shows superiority of needle-free injection over needle and syringe for poliovirus vaccine fIPV campaigns

Administration of intradermal fractional dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (fIPV) has proven to be safe and immunogenic; however, intradermal injection using needle and syringe is technically difficult and requires trained personnel. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of Pharmajet’s Tropis ID delivery device for administering fIPV in a campaign setting among children aged 4-59 months in the polio high risk area of Karachi, Pakistan. The study provided evidence that fIPV can be successfully used in a campaign with Tropis. The device is safe, efficient in dose sparing, quick in administration of fIPV, and needs minimal training to use in campaign settings.

The average preparation and administration time was significantly less when compared to other methods of intradermal administration such as BCG needle and syringe or intradermal needle adaptors. In addition, Tropis was able to all but eliminate any vaccine wastage. All vaccinators reported that crying among children was less common, filling the device was easy, the device was appropriate size, and giving the injection was easy. No adverse events related to the fIPV administration were observed either immediately after immunization or during the weekly monitoring visits for two weeks after the campaign.

To learn more, please refer to the full study, which was published in Heliyon Journal on August 30, 2017: http://www.heliyon.com/article/e00395/

Reference

1. A. F. Saleem, et al., Needle adapters for intradermal administration of fractional dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine: Evaluation of immunogenicity and programmatic feasibility in Pakistan, Vaccine 35 (24) (2017) 3209 – 3214