Flu Shot Ingredients Includes Some of These -- Or Do They?

Have you seen this meme being passed around?

I decided to go through each of the named ingredients,  and see if they are in any vaccine, let alone the flu vaccine. I'm also going to keep score: how many of the 24 items are actually in flu vaccines?

Reminder: You may know this, but:

• A paper clip weighs about 1 gram.
• Most vaccines are 0.5 milliliters (ml) or approximately 10 drops of water
• mg = milligram, 1/1,000 of a gram
• mcg = microgram, 1/1,000,000 of a gram
• ng = nanogram, 1/1,000,000,000 of a gram

Substances listed, starting from top left

1. Mercury (thimerosal) -- Thimerosal is not mercury, and mercury is not thimerosal. The chemical formula for thimerosal is C9H9HgNaO2S It is only used in multi-dose vials. Typically around 25.4 mcg (or millions of a gram) per dose. Thimerosal is a safe and effective anti-microbial. Most flu vaccines now come in single-dose vials, so do not need or contain thimerosal. 

   https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/thimerosal/timeline.html

   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Yes, for multi-dose vials only Score: 1/26

2. Formaldehyde is used in many vaccines, including flu vaccines, to inactivate the viruses. The human body makes formaldehyde as a part of protein synthesis, and the small amounts in vaccines do not change the amount of formaldehyde circulating in the blood. Fluzone Quadrivalent has the most, at ≤100 mcg/dose. 

   https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-ingredients/formaldehyde

   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Yes, in the brands Fluad, Fluarix, Flulaval, Fluzone High-dose, Fluzone. Score: 2/26

3. Ethanol-- is also called alcohol, ethyl alcohol and grain alcohol. It is not used in vaccines. A compound, d 2-phenoxy-ethanol, is used in some vaccines as a stabilizer, but not flu vaccines.

   https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Excipients.htm

   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26

4. Human Embryonic (aborted baby) Lung Culture -- this is WI-38 and MR-5. Human diploid cells are not used in flu vaccine manufacture.

   Aborted Human Diploid Cell Cultures (WI-38 & MR-5) Why repeat this inaccurate information, except to arouse disgust? 

   https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/human-cell-strains-vaccine-development
   
   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26

5. Aluminum, the element, is not used in vaccines. Various aluminum salts and compounds are used as adjuvants. For example, the pneumococcal vaccine Prevnar13 has 0.125 mcg of aluminum phosphate as an adjuvant. So 1/8 of a millionth of a gram of aluminum phosphate.

   https://fullfact.org/online/vaccine-ingredients/

   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26
   

6. Monkey Kidney Cells this is a references to Vero (African monkey kidney epithelial cells) .Various lines of Vero cells have been used for human vaccine production for nearly 40 years, and were the only World Health Organization approved continuous cell line substrates for some time."

   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4514150/

   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26
   

7. Fetal Cow Serum -- yes, it's used in vaccine production, for non-viral organisms. "Fetal bovine serum is the most widely used growth supplement added to eukaryotes in vitro cell cultures. It has been in use since the 1960s and, for over fifty years, has outperformed both synthetic and natural growth supplements." To the best of my knowledge, it's not used in flu vaccine manufacture.
   
   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26

8. DNA from Pig Circoviruses (PCV) In 2010, porcine circovirus DNA (PVC1 and PVC2 were found in both approved rotavirus vaccines, Rotarix and Rotateq. Neither PCV1 nor PCV2 is known to infect or cause disease in humans.

   https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2010/05/second-rotavirus-vaccine-found-contain-porcine-circovirus#:~:text=The%20FDA%20said%20neither%20has,both%20have%20strong%20safety%20records.
   
   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26

9. Embrionic (Sic) Guinea Pig Cells -- The Oka/Merck strain of varicella vaccine virus, used in the Varivax vaccine approved in the US, was passaged through embryonic guinea pig cell cultures before a final passage through WI-38 human diploid cell cultures. I believe that is the only way embryonic guinea pig cells have any relationship to any US-approved vaccines.

   https://www.fda.gov/media/76000/download

   Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26

10. Human Albumin -- it is used as a diluent and stabilizer in two vaccines, MMRII and MMRV. Not in flu vaccines. Furthermore, albumin purified from human blood is being replaced by recombinant (synthetic) human albumin products.

    "Human serum albumin (HSA) is widely used in clinical and cell culture applications. Conventional production of HSA from human blood is limited by the availability of blood donation and the high risk of viral transmission from donors."

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3223471/
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 2/26

11. Porcine (pig) Gelatin -- hydrolyzed porcine gelatin is used as a stabilizer in the FluMist Quad and Zostavax (the first anti-shingles vaccine). Gelatin, species source not specified, is used as a stabilizer in the vaccines against Yellow Fever, MMRII, and MMRV.

    https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Excipients.htm

    Muslim and Jewish religious authorities have agreed that porcine gelatin in injectable form is acceptable.

    https://www.vumc.org/health-wellness/news-resource-articles/immunizations-and-religk

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Yes, in the brand FluMist. Score: 3/26

12. Canine (dog) Kidney Cell Protein and DNA --The MDCK cell line was derived from a kidney of an apparently normal adult female cocker spaniel, September, 1958, by S.H. Madin and N.B. Darby. Since then, variations on the MDCK cell lines have been produced to facilitate flu vaccine production. While "embryonated chicken eggs" were the first influenza viral growth medium, they are not necessarily the best, especially since some influenza virus strains do not grow well in eggs.
    
    Flucelvax contains  <10 ng per dose of residual MDCK cells or fragments. 

    https://www.atcc.org/products/all/CCL-34.aspx#:~:text=The%20MDCK%20cell%20line%20was,Madin%20and%20N.B.%20Darby.&text=The%20cells%20are%20positive%20for%20keratin%20by%20immunoperoxidase%20staining.,-Cellular%20Products&text=Comments-,This%20line%20is%20hyperdiploid%20and%20there,bi%2Dmodal%20chromosome%20number%20distribution.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4514150/

    https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/1-4020-3103-3_163

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Yes, in the brand Flucelvax Score: 4/26
    

13. Mueller's Media (containing cow extracts) (sic) -- it's Mueller's medium. Mueller's medium is a culture medium, used to grow tetanus and diphtheria, among other organisms. It was developed by Fiskek, Mueller, and Miller in the 1940s.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC357228/pdf/jbacter00552-0091.pd. MUSCLE EXTRACTIVES IN THE PRODUCTION OF TETANUS TOXIN 1953
    
    The original Mueller’s medium "recipe" used a broth made of beef hearts as a protein and micronutrient source. The beef heart infusion has since been standardized and is a common laboratory product. https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/content/dam/sigma-aldrich/docs/Sigma-Aldrich/Datasheet/1/05121dat.pdf

    It's used in the manufacture of a few vaccines, those that prevent pertussis, diphtheria, and tetanus, but not any flu vaccines. 
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

14. Detergent -- there is no excipient called "detergent" in any vaccine

    https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Excipients.htm
    https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

15. Chloride -- "The chloride ion  is the anion (negatively charged ion) Cl−. It is formed when the element chlorine (a halogen) gains an electron ".  Cloride does not exist as a single substance, because it 's an anion. There are chloride containing compounds in vaccines, such as sodium chloride (table salt) and potassium chloride (which is consumed as a table salt substitute). These chloride salts are used as buffering agents and growth medium nutrients.
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

16. Anti-freeze -- no. This has been debunked for a long time. Polyethylene glycol (a chemical used in antifreeze and personal care products like skin creams and toothpaste) was formerly used to deactivate the virus in some flu vaccines, but is no longer used. 
    https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/URLs_Cited/OT2010/09-152/Am.Academy.PDF
    https://vaxopedia.org/2018/03/28/which-vaccines-contain-antifreeze/
    

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

17. Aluminum Dye-- aluminum lake dye is part of the outer coating of the adenovirus type 7 tablet. "Adenovirus vaccine is only available for United States military personnel. There is currently no adenovirus vaccine available to the general public."
    
    https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26
    

18. E. Coli -- this is just a scare tactic, because what the general public knows about E. coli is that it is a dangerous infectious organism, not the truth, which is it has many, many strains, some of which are used in vaccine and medication production.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_strains_of_Escherichia_coli 
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

19. Human serum albumin (HSA)—one of the most demanded therapeutic proteins with immense biotechnological applications—is a large multidomain protein containing 17 disulfide bonds. The current source of HSA is human blood plasma which is a limited and unsafe source. Thus, there exists an indispensable need to promote non-animal derived recombinant HSA (rHSA) production. Escherichia coli is one of the most convenient hosts which had contributed to the production of more than 30% of the FDA approved recombinant pharmaceuticals. It grows rapidly and reaches high cell density using inexpensive and simple substrates."

    https://microbialcellfactories.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12934-017-0784-8
    
    Human serum albumin is used in the MMRII vaccine and the rabies vaccine.
    
    https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Excipients.htm
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

20. Acetone --Part of the outer coating of the adenovirus vaccine. "Adenovirus vaccine is only available for United States military personnel. There is currently no adenovirus vaccine available to the general public."
    
    https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/b/excipient-table-2.pdf

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No.  Score: 4/26

21. Barium -- was a microingredient in one flu vaccine for those over 65, Fluad, although the 2020 package insert doesn't mention it.

    https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Excipients.htm
    https://www.fda.gov/media/94583/download

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Not currently. Score: 4/26
    

22. Cow Muscle Tissue -- may be an ingredient in various growth mediums in some vaccines. Mueller's medium originally used essentially consummé made from beef heart. Growth mediums are purified out of the end product.
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 4/26

23. Chicken Protein -- no intact protein cells from chicken eggs are found in vaccines produced using chicken eggs as the growth medium. There may be trace (<10 ng) amounts of chicken DNA in such vaccines.
    
    https://www.vaccinesafety.edu/components-Excipients.htm
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Yes, in all fluvaccine brands except Flublok and Flucelvax Score: 5/26

24. Porcine (pig) Argine (sic) Argine is not a word. The person who wrote this list was possibly referring to arginine, an amino acid, C6H14N4O2, obtained from the hydrolysis of plant and animal proteins. It is an excipient in FluMist, 2.42 mg/dose arginine as a stabilizer.
    
    https://www.fda.gov/media/83072/download

    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No, for the word argine. Score: 5/26
    

25. Dextrose --is a sugar. "Dextrose is a type of simple sugar made from corn. It is similar to fructose and chemically identical to glucose, which is blood sugar.

    Simple sugars, including dextrose, fructose, and glucose, appear in foods such as table sugar, honey, and bread."

    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322243#overview

    It is only in the adenovirus vaccine, which is not available to the public.
    
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? No. Score: 5/26

26. Gelatin -- see the porcine gelatin discussion, above.
    Is this substance used in flu vaccine manufacture? Yes, in the brand FluMist. Score: 6/26

So this list got an accuracy score of 23%.  Generally speaking, anything below 59% is considered an F grade.  Well done, meme maker, you failed!

Additional sources:

https://www.orau.gov/cdcynergy/web/im/Content/activeinformation/resources/IM_additives.pdf

https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/112/6/1394.full.pdf