No, there are no “toxins” in the COVID-19 vaccine :: WRAL.com

PolitiFact Reporter, Samantha Putterman

A long and popular Facebook post from an alternative medicine doctor makes some misleading claims about the new coronavirus vaccine.

Among them: that new mRNA vaccines can alter human DNA (it is Fire pants); Vaccines are not needed as herd immunity has improved significantly (We are not); And anyone with COVID-19 will not benefit from the vaccine ()wrong).

The post also falsely claims that the vaccine contains toxic components such as aluminum, mercury “and perhaps formaldehyde”, and ultimately, taking a shot is more harmful than getting the disease itself. I conclude that.

“This is my conclusion. I want to get a COVID infection rather than get a COVID vaccine,” I read the post that accompanies the image of a man in a white doctor’s coat. “It will be safer and more effective.”

Two issues: The list of ingredients cited in the post seems to be drawn from the thin air. And the pile of evidence shows that getting infected with a virus is far more dangerous than a vaccine. Vaccines have been studied for months and have proven to be safe and effective for tens of thousands of people. In contrast, COVID-19 killed more than 1.6 million people worldwide.

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and false information in the news feed.

When the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine received an emergency use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration on December 11, its ingredient list was published online. Fact sheet For recipients and caregivers. This list includes mRNA, lipids, salts, sugar and saline.

None of the toxic ingredients that appear to be listed in the Facebook post will appear in the list.

The mRNA used in Pfizer and Moderna vaccines represents a new vaccine technology, but the research behind it has been underway for some time.

“This is not a novel strategy,” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital. “This particular concept of using messenger RNA in vaccines has been around for 20 years. It’s just the first product to come to the surface to become a commercial project.”

Traditional vaccines introduce inactivated or weakened versions of the virus for the body to fight. In contrast, the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines use messenger RNA, which is a fragment of the viral genetic material.

It works by instructing the body to make copies of the proteins present on the surface of the coronavirus without causing the disease. The immune system then learns to recognize proteins and produce antibodies against them.

Other components of the vaccine

For the rest of the components, lipids are nanoparticles used to wrap RNA, and salts help bring the pH or acidity of a vaccine closer to that of the human body. Sugar protects the nanoparticles when they freeze and prevents them from sticking to each other. MIT Technology Review, Talked to an expert to help decode the content.

Prior to injection, the vaccine is mixed with saline, as is the case with many intravenously administered drugs, the report said.

Moderna has also been released FDA list of similar ingredients, There are subtle differences that may explain each different storage need. Pfizer vaccines should be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius, while Moderna vaccines can be shipped at minus 20 degrees Celsius and then stored in the refrigerator for up to 30 days.

K. “Vish” Viswanath, a professor of health communication at Harvard School of Public Health, said that this post uses and claims what he calls a “scientific” language, including common vaccines. He told Politifact that he was using evasive tactics. It comes from someone you can trust.

“This kind of tactic to list ingredients that may or may not exist is not new. Even after the ingredients have been removed from the vaccine, anti-vaccine groups have always used the list of ingredients,” Viswanath said. Said. “They misunderstand and distort scientific data and move on to the agenda.”

Some vaccinated people may develop mild or moderate symptoms such as headache, pain, and fever as the immune system reacts, but these side effects are short-lived and can be serious or life-threatening. Not considered a threat.

Some skeptics of the vaccine have pointed out that the survival rate of groups of people infected with COVID-19 is high. However, health experts point out that vaccines are not just intended to prevent death. It also prevents the spread of viruses and infectious diseases that can lead to serious long-term health problems.

Strict safety review

The vaccine was developed in record time, but underwent a rigorous review process before it was considered suitable for public use.

For example, the vaccine developed by Pfizer-BioNTech has been studied in clinical trials involving approximately 44,000 people, half receiving the vaccine and the other half receiving the placebo. To obtain an emergency use authorization from the FDA, the manufacturer must follow at least half of the participants for at least two months after vaccination, and the vaccine must prove safe and effective in the population. I had to.

An FDA analysis of the vaccine’s data found that there were “no specific safety concerns” that would rule out the use of it in people over the age of 16.

In Moderna, 30,000 participants were studied in the trial, half received the vaccine and half received the placebo. An interim review of the data found that the vaccine was safe, well tolerated, and had an efficacy rate of 94.5%.

Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, called the post irresponsible.

“Where are the data? How can they claim that the vaccine is contaminated with these drugs?” Iwasaki wrote in an email. “Vaccination is not as dangerous as getting sick.

“The safety of both Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines has been rigorously tested without serious concern. The case fatality rate of COVID-19 is 2.3%. The vaccine is zero.”

Address some of the other claims in the post

As the post suggests, the United States has not reached herd immunity, which significantly prevents the spread of the disease.

In a recent interview with NPR, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said the country will begin to reach the early stages of herd immunity by the end of spring. I predicted it might be possible. Summer if people are vaccinated.

“I think 50% need to be vaccinated before the effects can be seen,” Fauci told the outlet. “But if you need a herd immunity blanket, I think 75% to 85% need to be vaccinated.”

People who do not need to be vaccinated do not need to be washed because they are already infected with COVID-19.

There is not yet enough information to show if or how long someone is protected after someone has recovered from their illness. Some early evidence suggests that innate immunity may not last that long, but further research is needed. Vaccines are expected to provide stronger, perhaps longer lasting immunity.

The recently released vaccine recommendations include Centers for Disease Control and Prevention He said vaccinations should be provided regardless of whether or not they have been infected before.

Politifact ruling

A Facebook post making some unfounded claims about the new coronavirus vaccine states that the shot contains toxic ingredients and is more dangerous than obtaining COVID-19.

This is a fake. The vaccine ingredient list does not contain the “toxic” content of the post. Also, the major vaccines that have been tested in thousands of people for months are less dangerous than the killed virus. 300,000 Americans and more than 1.6 million people worldwide.

Fire pants.