Are COVID-19 Vaccine Ingredients Safe?

COVID-19 vaccines give us our best shot at beating the pandemic. In time, everyone will have a chance to get one. Until then, if you have concerns about what's in the vaccines, these facts may give you peace of mind.

There is No Live Virus in the Vaccines

Vaccines contain ingredients that help your body build immunity against a specific virus. However, not all vaccines have the same ingredients.

The two COVID-19 vaccines currently authorized for use in the U.S. are the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. They are a newer type of vaccine, called mRNA vaccines.

They don't use live or weakened viruses to build immunity. Instead, they use messenger RNA (mRNA). The mRNA instructs cells to make a harmless piece of the virus's genetic material called the spike protein, which is found on the surface of the novel coronavirus. This teaches our immune systems to recognize and create antibodies to fight the real virus if we ever come into contact with it. But because the vaccine doesn't contain any live virus, there's no way it can give you COVID-19.

The vaccine's mRNA does not stay in the body, and it cannot change your DNA.

Also Not Included

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines also lack some other ingredients some people may be concerned about. 

They do not have:

• Preservatives, such as thimerosal (which contains an organic form of mercury). Most vaccines do not use thimerosal or mercury. And the type of mercury found in the few vaccines that do have thimerosal is not likely to build up in the body. In tiny amounts, it is safe in vaccines.
• Formaldehyde, used to help make some vaccines.
• Eggs, latex, or antibiotics. Some people are allergic to these things.
• Microchips. Scientists are not putting microchips in any vaccines to track us. That's a myth. In fact, it's not even possible to do so.

What is in the Shot?

Like all vaccine ingredients, those in the COVID-19 vaccines serve a specific purpose. For instance, some ingredients help the vaccine work. Others are needed to help produce the vaccine.

Here are some of the other ingredients in the two COVID-19 vaccines now in use. Ask your doctor if you have any concerns about them.

Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Ingredients:

• ((4-hydroxybutyl)azanediyl)bis(hexane-6,1-diyl)bis(2-hexyldecanoate).
• 2[(polyethylene glycol)-2000]-N,N-ditetradecylacetamide.
• 1,2-Distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine.
• Cholesterol.
• Potassium chloride.
• Monobasic potassium phosphate.
• Salt.
• Dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate.
• Sugar.

Moderna Vaccine Ingredients:

• SM-102.
• Polyethylene glycol (PEG) 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol (DMG).
• Cholesterol.
• 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine.
• Tromethamine.
• Tromethamine hydrochloride.
• Acetic acid.
• Sodium acetate.
• Sugar.

Talk to your Doctor

Some side effects have occurred with the COVID-19 vaccines. Most are minor, such as a sore arm where people have received the shot. A few people have had more serious allergic reactions, but this is very rare. The CDC says that if you have had an allergic reaction to PEG or polysorbate, you should not get an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. 

You can help make your shot even safer by telling your provider if you:

• Have any allergies or other health problems.
• Have ever had an allergic reaction to a vaccine.