Vaccine Ingredients

You may have heard that vaccines contain all types of crazy ingredients that sound as though they don’t belong in a medical product. The truth is that a very small group of very vocal, but misinformed, individuals have made false accusations regarding the safety of vaccines and their ingredients. In most cases, these claims are just wrong. In other cases, the claims are from information taken out of context or are trying to purposely scare people away from vaccines.

The main ingredients in vaccines are antigens, which are small amounts of the bacteria or virus against which the person is being vaccinated. Antigens are the parts of the vaccine that encourage your immune system to create antibodies to fight against future infections. To make sure that the vaccines cannot cause the disease you are trying to protect against, the antigens are altered or weakened. Learn more about how vaccines are made and how they work.

Like many of the foods we eat and beverages we drink, vaccines also contain a small amount of additional ingredients, and each has a specific, necessary function. These ingredients may be added to the vaccine to make it more effective, sterile and/or safe. These additional ingredients have been studied and are safe for humans in the amount used in vaccines.

In fact, the amount of these additional ingredients in vaccines is much less than children encounter in their environment, food and water. As the saying goes, “the dose makes the poison.” In other words, any chemical – even water or oxygen – can be toxic or even deadly in large enough quantities.

Sometimes a child may be sensitive to one of the components of a vaccine, and an allergic reaction may result. For this reason, you should discuss any allergies your child may have with your healthcare provider.

click to view larger

Below are the ingredients that may be found in certain vaccines and their purpose.

Preservatives

When an individual vaccine dose is drawn from a multi-dose vaccine vial with a new needle, it is possible for bacteria or fungus to get into the vial, which could be very dangerous to the people getting the shots. To prevent this contamination, a preservative is added to the vaccine vial.

Since 1968, the United States Code of Federal Regulations has required the addition of a preservative to multi-dose vials of vaccines; and worldwide, preservatives are routinely added to multi-dose vials of vaccine. Tragic consequences have followed the use of multi-dose vials that did not contain a preservative (including deaths) and are the driving force for this requirement.

Having safe, multi-dose vials of vaccines available for us to use is very important, especially when a large number of people need to be vaccinated quickly, which could be the case during a flu, coronavirus or other disease pandemic.

Thimerosal

Thimerosal is a preservative used in multi-dose vials of flu vaccines to prevent contamination with bacteria or fungus, which could be deadly.

Thimerosal is made from a type of mercury call ethylmercury. This kind of mercury is broken down by the body and clears out of the blood quickly.

Ethylmercury is very different than methylmercury.

Methylmercury is found naturally in the environment. It is also the kind of mercury that is found in fish like salmon and shellfish; and also in many everyday products, foods and drinks.

Methylmercury accumulates in the body and takes much longer to remove from the body. A buildup of methylmercury in the body is usually due to eating certain types of fish or other drinks or food, and high amounts can harm the nervous system. Over a lifetime, everyone is exposed to some methylmercury.

Even though there was no evidence that thimerosal in vaccines was dangerous, in 2001, it was removed from vaccines in the U.S. in an effort to reduce overall mercury exposure among infants. To keep vaccines safe from contamination without the use of thimerosal or other preservatives, they were either reformulated or put into single-dose vials. Now, the only vaccines in the U.S. that use thimerosal as a preservative are flu vaccines in multi-dose vials. (Thimerosal-free, single-dose vials of flu vaccine are also available in the U.S.) There is no evidence that the small amounts of thimerosal in flu vaccines cause any harm, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site.

To learn more about the thimerosal content in FDA-approved seasonal flu vaccines, visit the Thimerosal and Vaccines page on the the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website.

MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), chickenpox (varicella), inactivated polio (IPV), and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) never contained thimerosal as a preservative.

No credible scientific studies have found an association between thimerosal in vaccines and autism. The studies used different methods to find out if there was any connection between thimerosal and autism. Some examined rates of autism a state or a country, comparing autism rates before and after thimerosal was removed as a preservative from vaccines. It is important to note that in the U.S. and other countries, the number of children diagnosed with autism has not gone down since thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines. To read the studies yourself, visit our Vaccine Research section.

The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, which provides independent, authoritative, scientific advice to the World Health Organization (WHO) on vaccine safety issues of global or regional concern, has also concluded that there is no evidence of toxicity in infants, children or adults exposed to thimerosal in vaccines.

You can learn more about vaccines and autism on the Autism Science Foundation website.

Watch Now: Is there mercury (thimerosal) in vaccines? Is that dangerous?

Formaldehyde

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas that is a byproduct of metabolism so it is already present in the human body. People also encounter formaldehyde every day in the environment. It is used in making building materials and many household products, and formaldehyde also gets into the air through car tailpipe emissions.

Formaldehyde is used is used to inactivate bacterial products for toxoid vaccines (DTaP and Tdap), and to kill unwanted viruses and bacteria that might contaminate the vaccine during the manufacturing process. Most formaldehyde is removed from the vaccine before it is packaged. In very small amounts, formaldehyde is not dangerous. In fact, there is more formaldehyde in a pear than in any one vaccine.

Learn more about formaldehyde in vaccines from Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Aluminum

Aluminum is everywhere. It is commonly found in food, health-and food-related products, water, infant formula and even breast milk. And for over 75 years, very small amounts of aluminum (aluminum gels or aluminum salts) have been added to some vaccines as “adjuvants” to help boost the body’s immune response. Without the use of these aluminum gels/salts in these vaccines, healthcare providers would need to give more doses of the vaccine or there there would be less immunity provided by the vaccine, and therefore less protection from the disease.

Watch Now: Can you explain why adjuvants, like aluminum, are in some vaccines?  

Learn more about aluminum in vaccines from the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Adjuvants

Adjuvants, such as aluminum, are added to certain vaccines to help trigger a better immune response from your body. Without the adjuvant, we would need to give more doses of a vaccine or  the vaccine would give us less immunity protection from the disease.

Watch Now: Can you explain why adjuvants, like aluminum, are in some vaccines?

Studies have shown there is no connection between adjuvants and the development of autoimmune diseases.

Residual Antibiotics

Antibiotics are added to some vaccines to prevent the growth of bacteria during the vaccine manufacturing process and storage of the vaccine. No vaccine produced in the United States contains penicillin.

Learn more about how vaccines are made.

Egg Protein

Some vaccines, like MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) and some flu vaccines, are created in eggs, which means that some egg proteins are present in the final vaccine product. The egg proteins help manufacturers to grow enough of the virus or bacteria needed to make the vaccine. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that the MMR vaccine can be safely given to all patients with egg allergies, including patients with a history of severe allergic reactions to eggs.  

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), recent studies have shown that even people with confirmed egg allergy can safely receive the flu vaccine. The Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), state that no special precautions are required for giving the flu vaccine to egg-allergic people –  no matter how severe the egg allergy. But, if you or your child has had a bad reaction to a dose of flu vaccine in the past, tell your vaccine provider before getting the vaccine. About one in a million doses of any vaccine results in a serious allergic reaction, and vaccine providers should be prepared to recognize and treat such reactions.

Gelatin

Some vaccines contain gelatin to protect them against freeze-drying or heat during the transportation and storage process. People with severe allergies to gelatin should talk to their doctor or healthcare provider before getting vaccinated.

Religious leaders of the Muslim and Jewish communities have approved the use of vaccines containing gelatin.

Antifreeze

You may have heard that vaccines contain products such as antifreeze. This is not true. Although they have similar-sounding names, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ethylene glycol are very different compounds. There is no ethylene glycol in vaccines. Ethylene glycol is very toxic and is best known for its use in antifreeze.

PEG, which is an ingredient in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, is approved by the FDA and considered non-toxic for medical and other uses. The most common medical use of polyethylene glycol is as a laxative, usually called MiraLAX, which is sold over-the-counter. PEG is also used in a variety of other products including skin cream, toothpaste, lubricating eye drops, and as an anti-foaming agent in food. It is also used as an irrigating solution in surgical procedures.

Sources and Additional Resources

No. A very small group of very vocal, but misinformed people have made accusations regarding the safety of vaccines, claiming that vaccines contain a laundry list of toxins. In many instances these allegations are completely incorrect. In others, the claims are taken out of context and are just being said to scare people into believing that getting vaccinated is riskier than not getting vaccinated. In fact, the opposite is true. Not getting vaccinated can be a very risky choice and can leave you, your family members and your community vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. Learn more about the ingredients in vaccines and why they are included.

click to view larger

Watch These Short Videos from Vaccinate Your Family

• Is there mercury (thimerosal) in vaccines? Is that dangerous?
• I’ve heard there are ingredients in vaccines that can harm children. Is this true?
• Is the Aluminum Added to Some Vaccines Safe?
• The Truth About Thimerosal in Vaccines

Learn More

• Vaccine Ingredients Q&A in English and Spanish (Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
• Vaccine Ingredients  (Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
• What’s in Vaccines? Ingredients and Vaccine Safety (CDC)
• Understanding Vaccines and Vaccine Safety  (CDC)
• Common Ingredients in U.S. Licensed Vaccines  (FDA)
• Offit and Jew. Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Vaccines Contain Harmful Preservatives, Adjuvants, Additives, or Residuals? Pediatrics. December 2003.

All COVID-19 vaccine ingredients are safe. Nearly all of the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are also the ingredients in many foods – fats, sugars, and salts.

mRNA COVID Vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna vaccines)

mRNA COVID vaccines – Pfizer and Moderna – DO NOT contain eggs, preservatives or latex. They also don’t contain live virus and cannot give you COVID.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG), which is an ingredient in mRNA COVID vaccines, is approved by the FDA and considered non-toxic for medical and other uses. The most common medical use of polyethylene glycol is a a laxative, usually called MiraLAX, which is sold over-the-counter. PEG is also used in a variety of products including skin cream, toothpaste, lubricating eye drops, and as an anti-foaming agent in food.

In mRNA vaccines like Moderna and Pfizer, PEG works with other ingredients to help mRNA enter the cells.

See all the ingredients in each mRNA COVID-19 vaccine and learn why each ingredient is included:

• Moderna
• Pfizer

Viral Vector COVID Vaccine (Johnson & Johnson vaccine)

The viral vector COVID vaccine – Johnson & Johnson – DOES NOT not contain eggs, preservatives or latex. It also doesn’t contain the virus (SARS-CoV-2) that causes COVID-19 and the vaccine cannot give you COVID.

Polysorbate is an ingredient in the J&J COVID vaccine. Polysorbate works together with other vaccine ingredients to help keep the vaccine molecules stable while the vaccine is manufactured, shipped, and stored until it is ready to be given to a vaccine recipient. Polysorbate is also FDA approved and is also used in other medical and cosmetic products.

See all the ingredients in the J&J COVID-19 vaccine and learn why each ingredient is included:

• Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

There is NO anifreeze in vaccines. Although they have similar-sounding names, polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ethylene glycol are very different compounds. There is no ethylene glycol in vaccines. Ethylene glycol is very toxic and is best known for its use in antifreeze.

The only vaccines that are made in human fetal cells (known as fetal cell lines) during their production process are chickenpox (varicella), rubella, hepatitis A, and the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (viral vector vaccine), in addition to one of the available rabies vaccines.

The viruses for these vaccines were grown in cells taken from elective terminations of pregnancies, which took place in the early 1960s. Since then, the cell lines for these vaccines have been maintained in the lab and no further sources of fetal cells are necessary to make these vaccines.

The reasons that fetal cells were originally used included:

• Viruses need cells to grow and tend to grow better in cells from humans than animals (because they infect humans).
• Almost all cells die after they have divided a certain number of times. For most cell lines, the limit of cell divisions is about 50; however, fetal cells can go through many more divisions before dying.

As scientists studied these viruses in the lab, they found that the best cells to use were the fetal cells mentioned above. When it was time to make a vaccine, they continued growing the viruses in the cells that worked best during these earlier studies.

Additional Resources

Everything You Need to Know About Catholics and COVID-19 Vaccines (Ave Maria Radio)

The Catholic Position on Vaccination (The Catholic Church Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales)

Can Catholics Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine? – Watch this video (Catholic Answers)

Common Ingredients in U.S. Licensed Vaccines  (FDA)

Fetal cells and vaccines: Common questions answered (Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)

Due to the Catholic Church’s view on abortion, some people have been concerned about the use of cell lines from human fetuses that were terminated. However, reviews by both the Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life, the National Catholic Bioethics Center and the Catholic Church Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales have determined that vaccines grown in these cell lines do not go against the religion’s doctrine and using these vaccines are the best way to protect people from serious vaccine-preventable diseases.

• Clarifications on the Medical and Scientific Nature of Vaccination (Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life in collaboration with Ufficio per la Pastoraledella Salute of Italian Bishops’ Conference and the Association of Italian Catholic Doctors)
• Moral Reflections on Vaccines from Cells Derived from Aborted Human Fetuses (Vatican’s Pontifical Academy for Life; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith)
• The Catholic Position on Vaccination (The Catholic Church Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales)

In addition, the Vatican COVID-19 Commission’s Health Task Force has created a toolkit in a number of languages to help church leaders address people’s concerns about vaccines: COVID-19 Vaccines: Resources for Church Leaders – Available in English and Spanish .

Christian Scientists do not believe in using any vaccines; however, when outbreaks have occurred in communities with Christian Scientists, some have agreed to be vaccinated. Their concerns are not related to the use of fetal tissue, but rather to the use of modern medical interventions.

Additional Resources

• Everything You Need to Know About Catholics and COVID-19 Vaccines (Ave Maria Radio)
• Can Catholics Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine? – Watch this video from Catholic Answers.
• Common Ingredients in U.S. Licensed Vaccines  (FDA)
• Fetal cells and vaccines: Common questions answered (Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia)
• Are Fetal Cells Used to Make Vaccines?  (Video that is part of Talking about Vaccines with Dr. Paul Offit video series)

Thimerosal is a preservative used to prevent contamination in some multi-dose vaccine vials because each time a dose is drawn from a multi-dose vial with a new needle, there is the potential for bacterial or fungal contamination, which could be deadly.

Thimerosal is an ethylmercury-based preservative. Ethylmercury is very different than methylmercury, which is found naturally in the environment, and what people commonly think of when they hear the word “mercury”.  The low levels of ethylmercury in vaccines are broken down by the body differently and clear out of the blood more quickly than methylmercury. A buildup of methylmercury in the body is usually due to eating certain types of fish or other food, and high amounts can harm the nervous system. Over a lifetime, everyone is exposed to some methylmercury.

Even thought here was no evidence that thimerosal in vaccines was dangerous, in 1999, it was removed from vaccines in the U.S. in an effort to reduce overall mercury exposure among infants. To keep vaccines safe from contamination, they were either reformulated or put into single-dose vials.  Now, the only vaccines in the U.S. that use thimerosal as a preservative are flu vaccines in multi-dose vials. (Thimerosal-free, single-dose vials of flu vaccine are also available in the U.S.)  

The only childhood vaccines in the U.S.  with tiny (trace) amounts of thimerosal are one DTaP vaccine and one DTaP-Hib combination vaccine. MMR (measles, mumps and rubella), chickenpox (varicella), polio (IPV) and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines never contained thimerosal as a preservative. The thimerosal is used to prevent the growth of bacteria and fungi during the the vaccines’ manufacturing process, and it is removed later with only very, very small amounts remaining.

No reputable scientific studies have found an association between thimerosal in vaccines and autism. The studies used different methods. Some examined rates of autism a state or a country, comparing autism rates before and after thimerosal was removed as a preservative from vaccines. In the U.S. and other countries, the number of children diagnosed with autism has not gone down since thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines. To read the studies yourself, visit our Vaccine Research page.

The Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety, which provides independent, authoritative, scientific advice to the World Health Organization (WHO) on vaccine safety issues of global or regional concern, has also concluded that there is no evidence of toxicity in infants, children or adults exposed to thimerosal in vaccines.

Watch Medical Experts Discuss: I’ve heard there are ingredients in vaccines that can harm children. Is this true?   (Part of VYF’s Video FAQs)

Additional Resources

• Vaccine Ingredients Q&A (Handout in English and Spanish) – Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
• Understanding Vaccines and Vaccine Safety (CDC)
• Thimerosal and Vaccines (CDC)

Yes.

Some vaccines are prepared in eggs which means that some egg proteins are present in the final vaccine product. The egg proteins help manufacturers to grow enough of the virus or bacteria needed to make the vaccine. Eggs are used in the production of the MMR vaccine and some flu vaccines. (For the 2020-2021 flu season, there are two vaccines licensed for use that are made without the use of eggs and are considered egg-free: Flublok Quadrivalent (licensed for use in adults 18 years and older) and Flucelvax Quadrivalent (licensed for use in people 4 years and older).

According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI), recent studies have shown that even people with confirmed egg allergy can safely receive the flu vaccine. The Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), state that no special precautions are required for giving the flu vaccine to egg-allergic people –  no matter how severe the egg allergy.

But, if you or your child has had a bad reaction to a dose of flu vaccine in the past, tell your vaccine provider before getting the vaccine. About one in a million doses of any vaccine results in a serious allergic reaction, and vaccine providers should be prepared to recognize and treat such reactions.

More Information

• Which Flu Vaccine Should My Children Get This Year? (AAP’s HealthyChildren)
• 2021-22 Flu Season (VYF)

Yes, people with yeast allergies can get vaccinated.

Hepatitis B vaccines, which are made using baker’s yeast, do have leftover yeast proteins in the final product.  However, many scientific studies have shown that the vaccines are safe, even in people with yeast allergies.

For more information on this topic, including the scientific studies mentioned, please view this fact sheet from CHOP’s Vaccine Education Center.