Tonje Sveinunggard - Assignment # 2 Will it be adopted?

Self-Administered Flu Vaccine
 

According to Department of health is it a familiar problem that a lot of people don’t get vaccinated. There could be many reasons for this. Some may be afraid of side effects or the syringes itself, and others are just too lazy to take the responsibility and get it done.
Researchers have now found a possible solution to some of these challenges.
They have developed a self-administered flu vaccine. They are using a new microneedle patch technology so that patients are able to self-administer the flu vaccine, even without any pain. These microneedles contain dry virus-like particles, and are only seven-tenths of a millimeter long. They normally use liquid particles containing the dead or attenuated virus, but when using this new formula it does no longer have to be refrigerated.
In tests, the new technology was even shown to provide greater protection than the conventional method of intramuscular immunization.

Relative advantage:
I will say that this flu vaccine is perceived as an improvement upon prior technologies. First of all you can take the vaccine yourself, and second of all; it does not hurt. The researchers also claim that this method is reducing side effects because of its precise delivery on each dose. This sounds to me like a pretty huge improvement from the regular syringe.
I could not find any information about the price of the product, but there will most likely be a factor that plays a role whether it gets adopted quickly or not. Is it much more expensive than its predecessor, will it probably affect the adoption negatively.

Compability:
The flu vaccine is most likely viewed as being consistent with the values and norms of a social system. This is because it’s compatible with current values/norms, and it will probably fit peoples schedule better, in terms of time spent. They don’t have to spend a lot of time waiting in line, or make any appointment at the doctor’s office. There may be some skeptical souls out there, considering that they will be responsible for taking the vaccine themselves, in case anything would go wrong.


Adaptability (Re-inventability):
If this idea can be re-invented or adapted to new purposes or environment, it will be adopted at a fast rate.
Hopefully this invention can be applied to other vaccines in the future. If this gets successful, a further development of the microneedles is likely to happen. That would probably reduce some of the delay with vaccinations, and at the same time make the environment less vulnerable for diseases.


Observability:
The trickiest part of making people to adapt this technology will probably be the observability. The problem with vaccines is that they have invisible results. You don’t get to see the disease pass through you. So because of its invisibility, no one will think that they could have had it in the first place.


Conclusion:
Technologies with grater perceived advantages and those perceived as compatible with current values and norms are adopted at a faster rate. As well as if the technology can be re-invented or adapted to new purposes. The flu vaccines, in my opinion, cover all these points very well.
The problem occurs when speaking of observability. As mentioned above, you don’t get to see the results of preventive actions.  On this basis, the adoption may take longer than if we could see a visible result. On the other hand, vaccines are something we are familiar with, and most people know the importance of getting them.
I find it a bit hard to suggest improvements on a product I barely know how works. In other words, I probably would need “principle knowledge” to make a stand at this point.
All in all I think this is a great idea with a lot of potential for the future.



Link:

http://www.ideaconnection.com/new-inventions/self-administered-flu-vaccine-07469.html