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Combination vaccines in the BD Uniject™ single- use delivery system to make immunization simpler and safer

An introduction
We have probably seen enough tragedy produced by polio, whooping cough, measles and other childhood diseases to cringe at the thought of skipping vaccinations.

A vaccine is a medicine that is given to help prevent a disease. Vaccines help the body produce antibodies. These antibodies protect against the disease. Vaccines not only help keep your child healthy, they help all children by stamping out serious childhood diseases.

The basic challenges in vaccination:
During the first year of life, an infant is subjected to a number of vaccines, many of which become due around the same time. The question before parents and doctors is whether to administer the vaccines singly and thereby subject the child to numerous needle punctures or to give at least some vaccines in combination and spare the child the pain and discomfort of multiple injections on the same day or around the same time.

The other pertinent issue in the immunization is the integrity of the delivery system. The most common delivery system for the vaccine is injections, however according to the latest WHO report, almost 75% of the injections given in India are reused (both curative & preventive put together). In addition to the safety factor, patient and healthcare convenience play major roles.

What is a combination vaccine?
A combination vaccine is one, which consists of two or more separate immunogens that have been physically combined in a single preparation. This concept differs from that of simultaneous vaccine administration, which although given concurrently, is physically separate (i.e., injected at separate sites or delivered by separate routes).

Combination Vaccine: Advantages
In the first of year of life, a child is given multiple dosage of vaccination to protect from various diseases. This not only causes trauma to the child due to numerous needle pricks, but also poses a challenge to parents and medical practitioner to track complicated immunization schedule.

Combination vaccine provides the following advantages for different stakeholders:

Advantages for Infants and Parents
 Fewer injections and less discomfort for the child
 Fewer episodes of parental anxiety
 Fewer visits to the clinic

Advantages to Doctors
 Better compliance
 Lower drop-out rates
 Less risk of needle-stick injury
 Less vaccine vials in the refrigerator

Advantages for the community
 Better compliance resulting in reduction in the burden of the disease
 Improved prospects for “herd immunity”

BD Uniject™: A delivery system of the future

The BD Uniject™ device is a single- use, prefilled injection device that delivers precise amount of dosage to the patient. The device cannot be reused since the sealed drug pouch membrane breaks once used and the disc valve then auto-locks and inhibits refilling.

The BD Uniject™ injection device is a unique concept towards making the process of immunization easier, minimizing the risk of transmission of diseases and ensuring easy and economical transport, storage and environment-friendly disposal.

Combination vaccine in BD Uniject™
A Futuristic Approach to immunization

The combination vaccine in a BD Uniject™ form clearly means fewer injections in the safest possible way. Combination vaccines ensure better patient compliance as a child is immunized against more diseases in a fewer number of clinic visits. Since the number of injection shots is minimized, the immunization schedules are also simplified to a greater extent.

When the vaccine is put in the BD Uniject™ device, it ensures the right amount of dosage for the patient with safety, as BD Uniject™ is an auto-disable device, which cannot be reused. The bubble reservoir in BD Uniject™ (shown in figure on right corner) has fixed capacity, which is filled in the assembly line of the vaccine manufacturer. This means no wastage of the expensive vaccine at the clinic and the amount of dosage is not dependeant on the healthcare professional’s skills.

As combination vaccines simplify the process of immunization, the total vaccination in India is likely to improve significantly.