Painful injections could be a thing of the past thanks to tiny new micro-needles which penetrate the skin without touching pain receptors.
The new needles, developed by scientists at the Welsh School of Pharmacy in Cardiff, were unveiled at the British Pharmaceutical Conference this week.
The painless injection works by using a grid of 400 tiny needles barely visible to the naked eye, made by the Tyndall Institute in Ireland, to puncture the skin.
Lead researcher, Dr James Birchall, said that the vaccines have more advantages than just being painless.
He told the BBC: "They are likely to be cheaper and easier to make. The micro-needle system might also be developed as a patch for self-application, avoiding the need for a clinician.
"There is also reduced risk of transmission of blood-borne pathogens by inappropriate re-use of needles. These are all particular advantages for the developing world."
The needles were initially developed to deliver a DNA vaccination directly to skin cells.
Researchers at the University of Bath have also been looking at alternative ways to deliver medicine, including special patches which pump medicine across the skin by using electrical currents.
Fear of needles is called belonephobia, whereby people have an uncontrollable fear of needles and other sharp objects.