No needle, no fat bubble: a jet of liquid just protected mice against COVID and flu

Today's mRNA vaccines wrap their fragile instructions in tiny fat bubbles and deliver them by needle. A team spanning the Institute of Science Tokyo and Rutgers University tried something plainer: shooting bare mRNA into the skin — rich in immune cells — with a high-pressure jet of liquid, no needle and no fat bubble. On its own the response was weak, but combining two immune-boosting ingredients, aluminium phosphate and short strands of DNA called CpG, changed the picture. After three doses, mice later exposed to the COVID or flu viruses had infectious virus below detection limits in their lungs, and less inflammation than with fat-bubble formulations. It is mice, not people — larger-animal tests come next — but the jet device and both boosters have each already been used in human patients. 'We achieved protective immunity in mice with a delivery device and adjuvant components that have each already been clinically used,' says co-author Wadih Arap.

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