Reuters
June 23, 2010
BOSTON (Reuters) – Giving just one-fifth the usual dose of the polio vaccine may protect babies against the virus nearly as well as a full dose, as long as it is injected just beneath the skin, doctors reported on Wednesday.
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The findings could bring down the cost of immunization, an important consideration in developing countries, some of which have had trouble containing the paralytic disease.
A needle-free jet injector made by Bioject Medical Technologies was used to deliver the vaccine beneath the skin at ages 2, 4 and 6 months. Blood tests showed more than 95 percent of the infants mounted an effective immune response against polio.
Babies who got a lower dose had fewer antibodies against polio but the researchers said that should not be a problem.
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