Could a Fentanyl Vaccine Fight the Overdose Epidemic?

Key Takeaways

Researchers are testing if a fentanyl vaccine can reduce the toll of the overdose epidemic.

The vaccine has been tested in rodents but not in humans.

If successful, it should stop fentanyl from entering the brain, preventing addiction and reducing physical harm.

Researchers at the University of Houston are studying if a fentanyl vaccine can reduce drug overdoses, which claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States last year. Most of the overdoses involved fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid that can be lethal at small doses.

Scientists hope that a fentanyl vaccine would stop the drug from entering the brain, blocking its “high” and interfering with its ability to produce deleterious symptoms, overdoses, and death. So far, the vaccine has yielded promising