Vaccine Team Q&A: What ingredients are in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines?

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The NBC15 Vaccine Team is getting answers to your questions about the COVID-19 vaccine. Some of you with allergies want to know what the makeup of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are.

CLICK HERE to submit your own question.

Dr. Dan Shirley, the Medical Director of Infection Prevention with UnityPoint Health-Meriter, says the COVID-19 vaccine is an mRNA vaccine and therefore is more paired down compared to other types of shots.

“It has kind of a delivery device, a little segment, something that lets it get into your body without your immune system killing it before it can do anything,” said Shirley. “So the basics are pretty consistent with prior vaccines but if anything, the mRNA might be paired down as far as how long the list of ingredients is.”

The basic makeup includes mRNA, lipids, salts, sugar, and acids.

According to the CDC website, both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines do NOT contain eggs, latex, or preservatives.

What are the ingredients in the Pfizer-Biontech COVID-19 vaccine?

• mRNA - messenger ribonucleic acid
• Lipids
  • ((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
• Salts
  • potassium chloride
  • monobasic potassium phosphate
  • sodium chloride
  • dibasic sodium phosphate dihydrate
• Sugar - sucrose

What are the ingredients in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine?

• mRNA - messenger ribonucleic acid
• Lipids
  • SM-102
  • polyethylene glycol [PEG] 2000 dimyristoyl glycerol [DMG]
  • cholesterol
  • 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine [DSPC]
• Acids & Acid Stabilizers
  • acetic acid
  • tromethamine
  • tromethamine hydrochloride
• Salt - sodium acetate
• Sugar - sucrose

The CDC says you should not get either vaccine if you have had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of the vaccine or have had a severe allergic reaction to any ingredient in this vaccine.

You can find a full list of NBC15 Vaccine Team Q&A’s HERE.

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