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    Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 Vaccine Formulation Tweaked to Improve Stability

    by Jessica McDonald Nov 19, 2021 7 minutes

    SciCheck Digest

    With the release of its pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer switched the buffer used in its formulation to increase the stability of the product, allowing it to remain at refrigerator temperatures for longer. The Food and Drug Administration OK’d the change, which is also being made to some doses for teens and adults. Social media posts, however, misleadingly suggest that the ingredient swap is dangerous or was added to prevent heart attacks in children.

    How do we know what ingredients are in a vaccine?

    The full ingredient list for any authorized COVID-19 vaccine can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and in a variety of documents on the Food and Drug Administration’s website, including in a fact sheet for vaccine recipients that’s available in numerous languages. 

    Both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines contain messenger RNA, or mRNA; a variety of fatty molecules, or lipids, to protect the mRNA; and aThe , or Janssen, vaccine contains a harmless adenovirus — a type of virus that typically causes the common cold — modified with the genetic material for SARS-CoV-2, as well as salts as stabilizing and buffering agents.

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