
COVID vaccines appear to stop people getting very sick and could save lives. Here’s how the BBC answered: “There is overwhelming scientific evidence that vaccination is the best defense against serious infections.
Perhaps the biggest question people have when wondering what the COVID vaccine is made of is whether they should get the vaccine and making sure it’s safe. Acetic acid, sodium acetate, and sucrose: These ingredients serve to stabilize the vaccine.Īt the end of February, the FDA gave emergency approval to the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but that version of the vaccine has fallen far behind Moderna and Pfizer in the U.S.Īccording to the FDA, here are the ingredients in the newest approved vaccine: “recombinant, replication-incompetent adenovirus type 26 expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, citric acid monohydrate, trisodium citrate dihydrate, ethanol, 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HBCD), polysorbate-80, sodium chloride.”.However, it is an amino alcohol which can be used to balance pH levels in the human body. Tromethamine, tromethamine hydrochloride: It’s not clear from FDA explanations of vaccine excipients, or ingredients which make up a very small amount of a vaccine, what Tromethamine does in the COVID-19 vaccine specifically.
lipids (SM-102, polyethylene glycol 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol, cholesterol, and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine ): These lipids, like the Pfizer vaccine, serve to transport the viral particles.mRNA: Similar to the Pfizer vaccine, this is a section of COVID-19 virus RNA, which instructs a cell to copy it and produce more of the virus in the human body and produce an immune response.The FDA lists ingredients of the Moderna vaccine as:
These salts and sugars help keep the viral particles viable until they are injected. They are present in many vaccines, including those for the rotavirus and influenza strains.
Potassium chloride, Sodium chloride, Monobasic potassium phosphate, Dibasic sodium phosphate dehydrate, Sucrose: Salts and sugars are common ingredients in food items. Lipids including ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate), 2 -N,N-ditetradecylacetamide, 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3- phosphocholine, and cholesterol): These lipid droplets, according to Reuters, help transport the working parts of the vaccine to the human body, allowing an immune response to occur. This protein is what helps a human immune system develop and produce antibodies as an immune response. In particular, the section used in the COVID-19 vaccine is the “spike protein,” which only the SARS-Cov-2 has. messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA): This is a section of the coronavirus RNA, which is used to provoke an immune response in the human body, conferring immunity from future infections of that virus. STAT News broke down the ingredients of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine, showing that it has a condensed list of: Immunological and vaccine experts are stating that this vaccine is safe after undergoing multiple trials, despite potential side effects. Vaccine ingredients have stoked the fires of controversy for years, leading to anti-vaccination movements which have not spared the COVID-19 vaccines from analysis and heavy criticism. But for those who could have an allergic reaction to the vaccine they’re given-or if someone has vaccine hesitancy-it’s worth knowing what the COVID vaccine is made of before you roll up your sleeve for the shot.Įspecially now that kids between the ages of 12-15 can begin receiving it and kids under the age of 12 are in vaccine trials. With at least five major players for the COVID-19 vaccine in the market-AstraZeneca, Pfizer and BioNTech, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, and NovaVax- keeping track of what’s in each formula can seem an impossible task. This story is regularly updated for relevance.