Flu Shots For Adults Who Are Afraid of Needles

Adults who need flu shots but are afraid of needles may be able to skip the one-inch needle and get injected by a smaller one instead.

Sanofi Pasteur's Fluzone Intradermal is less than a tenth of an inch long and gives the shot just under the skin rather than going into the muscle, ABC News reported Tuesday.

It can be used on adults from the ages of 18 through 64 and hits markets this fall, the Associated Press reported.

The microinjection delivery system utilized in Fluzone Intradermal vaccine provides reliable and easy delivery of the vaccine into the dermal layer of the skin, an attractive site for immunization, Sanofi Pasteur president and CEO said in a company press release earlier this year.

William Schaffner, the chairperson of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt School of Medicine, described the shot as truly ouchless, ABC reported.

The immediate inoculation is virtually imperceptible, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people six months and older get vaccinated for the flu, particularly medical personnel and those who come in contact with babies below the age of six months, although there are exceptions.

Approximately 166 million doses of the flu vaccine are expected to be produced this year, the Associated Press reported.