What ingredients go into a COVID-19 vaccine?

Around the world, a concerted effort is underway to vaccinate as many people as possible against COVID-19, as quickly as possible. After slow starts in some countries, steady progress is now being made – although deployment remains unequal.

The complex nature of vaccine manufacturing and supply chain was described in a British Medical Journal blog by Charles Clift, Senior Consulting Fellow at the Center for Universal Health at Chatham House in London.

“The current annual production of all vaccines in the world is around 5 billion doses,” Clift said. “Again this year the goal is to produce as many COVID-19 vaccines as possible to meet projected demand… estimated (at) around 9.5 billion doses, which has never been done before. “

One of the shortages facing the vaccine industry includes the availability of trained personnel, Clift explained. Another part of the challenge is the makeup of the vaccines themselves. Clift said some COVID-19 vaccines require 280 separate inputs: “These range from the biological material to grow the vaccine through a wide range of technical kits needed for production to vials that contain the finished product. “

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been heavily involved in disseminating clear and accessible information about the virus since early 2020. It is therefore not surprising that WHO is doing something similar to help people understand the vaccine manufacturing process, too – including what some of those 280 entries entail.

Here is the list of what goes into a COVID-19 vaccine, according to information from the WHO. Note that the details here are generic and apply to all vaccines, this is not a breakdown of the specific compounds that each of the COVID-19 vaccines contains.

It is the active component that all vaccines contain. Created to resemble or mimic a particular disease or infection, or pathogen, the purpose of the antigen is to provoke your immune system. In doing so, it lays the foundation for future immune responses to actual infection with the pathogen, in this case the COVID-19 virus.

If a vaccine is presented as a single dose, it may not contain any preservatives. But some come in larger vials, designed for multiple injections, in which case they need something to keep the vaccine from spoiling when exposed to air. One of the most commonly used preservatives is 2-phenoxyethanol, which is also used as a scent fixative, insect repellant, and antiseptic.

Sugars (lactose, sucrose), amino acids (glycine), gelatin and proteins are all used as stabilizers in vaccines. They are there to prevent chemical reactions from occurring within the vaccine. One of the proteins often used is recombinant human albumin. This is made from yeast and although it looks like human serum, it does not contain any human or animal material.

While stabilizers keep vaccine components from mixing and reacting, surfactants are there to keep all of the ingredients mixed. Without surfactants, there could be separation of the ingredients, resulting in the formation of sediment or lumps.

Different manufacturing processes use different non-active ingredients. The trace elements of these non-active elements are present in the final vaccine and are called residues. It can be yeast or egg protein, or even antibiotics. They are in such minute quantities that they are measured in parts per billion.

The largest ingredient, by volume, in a vaccine is the diluent. As the name suggests, it is the liquid used to dilute the vaccine in order to obtain the correct concentration. Usually the vaccine diluent is sterile water.

Some vaccines contain small amounts of aluminum salts to help trigger a stronger immune response. These adjuvants work by stimulating immune cells near the injection site. Aluminum is sometimes the subject of alarmist concerns, but people regularly come into contact with aluminum through food and drink and it has been shown to not cause long-term health problems. according to the WHO.