--- title: "The US military used compressed air for vaccines for 30 years" description: "We've been getting our military vaccines injected with painful needles for decades, like a bunch of chumps." date: "2023-01-20" modified: "2025-06-24" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/military-vaccines-hypospray/" categories: - "History" - "Military News" - "Technology" tags: - "Army" - "Battlefield Medicine" - "Military History" --- # The US military used compressed air for vaccines for 30 years ![military vaccine jet injector shot]() *Hypospray Jet Injector used in typhus vaccination at a US military base, 1959. (Photo by Roy C. McManus. Post Sig Photo Lab, Fort Gordon, GA)* We all watched it happen on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Whenever a member of the Enterprise crew needed an injection, Dr. Crusher simply grabbed a [hypospray]() and delivered the drugs, vaccine, or whatever medical-plot device was necessary into the crew member’s neck, no needle required. At the time, we may have been thinking that it would be nice to have such medical "Trek"-nology, hoping one day doctors would come up with a way to make it happen. By the time we got into the military and ran the gauntlet of basic training injections, we cursed the same medical gods who made us get a plethora of injections ([including the dreaded “peanut butter” shot]()) with a needle. It turns out that this kind of medical technology not only exists today, but has been in existence for decades, and the military had used it in the 1960s. We may not call it a hypospray, although we should, but the jet injector can administer injections in the skin, fat, and muscle tissue of humans, all without the need for a needle. Jet injectors create a stream of whatever medical fluid is being injected using pressure. The pressure is created by a piston in the enclosed fluid container, either using springs, compressed air, motors, or even good old-fashioned elbow grease to push the liquid through the skin to wherever it’s supposed to go. Call it what you like, Jet Injector, Air Gun, or Pneumatic Injector, they basically operate the same way. The high-pressure liquid goes through the pores of the skin, allegedly without the pain of a needle. They were used in mass-vaccination efforts, [like the one used to eradicate Smallpox](), to great success. They were also an available alternative for diabetics who routinely required insulin injections. There was a catch, however. The World Health Organization has called for an end to the use of jet injections for all purposes due to safety concerns, particularly for vaccination. The risk of retransmitting disease turned out to be much higher using jet injectors versus traditional needle syringes. ![jet vaccine gun]() *A Med-E-Jet vaccination gun.* But the idea of hyposprays and jet injections is making a comeback, this time with the aim of mitigating the safety risks associated with the old-style jet injections. Like syringes and other single-use medical devices, protective caps are being developed to revitalize the jet injection. Protector caps were discarded after use on one patient and replaced with a new one for the next. Sadly, studies showed initial protector caps failed to inhibit infections in many patients. A study of patients being treated for Hepatitis B found Hepatitis B present underneath the protective caps, but research has not stopped trying to produce a pain-free way to vaccinate the masses. The next step was creating a jet injector with a disposable cartridge, which worked as planned. Diabetics have actually used this kind of injection since around 2000, and it currently makes up seven percent of the world market for injections. The largest market remains centered on people with diabetes. But the technology is far from perfect. Cross-contamination remains a concern, and modern jet injectors experience “splashback,” which occurs when the jet stream pushes back against the nozzle. The possibility of sucking blood from the skin into the next dose of the injection also exists. This is known as “fluid suckback.” A number of jet injection devices that have WHO certification are available, but with an effort to rebrand them as “Needle Free Injectors” in an attempt to ditch the stigma associated with previous jet injectors. The quest for a real, working hypospray will continue in the meantime, hopefully with the goal of actually calling it a hypospray. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()