--- title: Afraid of Flu Shots? Try a Smaller Needle description: Flu vaccine makers began shipping on Monday a new form of the annual flu shot, with a significantly shorter needle. The new vaccine should make... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7140459/afraid-of-the-flu-shot-try-a-smaller-needle/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2011-09-20T09:00:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-25T05:40:01.079Z article:section: Health og:title: Afraid of Flu Shots? Try a Smaller Needle og:description: Flu vaccine makers began shipping on Monday a new form of the annual flu shot, with a significantly shorter needle. The new vaccine should make... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7140459/afraid-of-the-flu-shot-try-a-smaller-needle/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt90c1c31ef3e5f965/698a9433b21a9c659251044a/hl_fluzon_0919.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 307 og:image:height: 173 og:image:alt: hl_fluzon_0919 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Afraid of Flu Shots? Try a Smaller Needle twitter:description: Flu vaccine makers began shipping on Monday a new form of the annual flu shot, with a significantly shorter needle. The new vaccine should make... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt90c1c31ef3e5f965/698a9433b21a9c659251044a/hl_fluzon_0919.jpg?branch=production&width=307&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Health](/section/health/) # Afraid of the Flu Shot? Try a Smaller Needle > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=98bb8cc0-e4c3-4b84-bff2-48f72738d70b&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 20, 2011 9:00 AM UTC  Sanofi Pasteur's Fluzone Intradermal is less than a tenth of an inch long, the first flu vaccine that works by injecting just into the skin. The new needle is about as long as a single drop of fluid. Sanofi Pasteur's Fluzone Intradermal is less than a tenth of an inch long, the first flu vaccine that works by injecting just into the skin. The new needle is about as long as a single drop of fluid. Jacquelyn Martin / AP by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Sep 20, 2011 9:00 AM UTC Flu vaccine makers [began shipping](http://sanofipasteurus.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=11069&item=47157) on Monday a new form of the annual flu shot, with a significantly shorter needle. The new vaccine should make it easier for people with a fear of needles to get immunized, and in the event of a shortage, may even allow doctors to vaccinate more people.more While the typical flu vaccine uses a 1-in. to 1.5-in. needle, the new Fluzone Intradermal influenza vaccine comes with an ultrafine needle that’s 90% smaller, at just 0.06 in. Both vaccines contain the same antigens, which help the immune system to protect against the three commonly circulating influenza strains this season. But because of its formulation, the new vaccine contains 40% less antigen material than the regular flu vaccine. That means the same amount of antigen can be used to make more doses of the intradermal vaccine, a useful feature if a flu-shot shortage were to occur this season. Otherwise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes on its [website](http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine/qa%5Fintradermal-vaccine.htm), the intradermal flu vaccine works the same way as the longer-needled version, and provides the same immune response. Sanofi-Pasteur, which [makes both](http://sanofipasteurus.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=11069&item=47157), says the intradermal vaccine should be available wherever flu shots are given — at doctors’ offices and some retail pharmacies around the nation. Supplies may be limited, however, since shipments have just begun. Unfortunately for kids, the short-needle shot, which was licensed for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, is approved only for adults aged 18 to 64. _Alice Park is a writer at_ TIME_. Find her on Twitter at_ [_@aliceparkny_](http://twitter.com/#!/AliceParkNY)_. You can also continue the discussion on_ TIME_‘s_ [_Facebook page_](http://www.facebook.com/time) _and on Twitter at_ [_@TIME_](http://twitter.com/#!/TIME)_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140459/afraid-of-the-flu-shot-try-a-smaller-needle/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7140459/afraid-of-the-flu-shot-try-a-smaller-needle/"},"headline":"Afraid of the Flu Shot? Try a Smaller Needle","datePublished":"2011-09-20T09:00:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-25T05:40:01.079Z","description":"Flu vaccine makers began shipping on Monday a new form of the annual flu shot, with a significantly shorter needle. 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