Covid-19
What’s in the Covid-19 vaccines?
THE DOSE
By Ava Mainieri, PhD
Senior Director of Research, She/her
With so much information and misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, we, at Tia, want to help you understand *wtf* is really going on, so we’re doing exactly that with regular drops of THE DOSE, your science-backed guide to all things Covid-19 vaccines.
THE DOSE is brought to you by geneticist and evolutionary biologist, Dr. Ava Mainieri, Head of Research at Tia , and infectious disease expert, Dr. Kathleen Jordan, Senior VP of Medical Affairs at Tia.
Pfizer and Moderna have the same four (yes, only four) ingredients, just different amounts. And you've probably heard of all of them.
1. mRna
Viruses are made up of genes made of DNA or RNA wrapped in proteins. DNA & RNA make mRNA, a.k.a. the messenger that makes the proteins.
2. Lipids
Did you know? Cholesterol and polyethylene glycol are two of the lipids used in these vaccines, which are also the main ingredients in Miralax.
3. Salt
Technically there are 4 salts in the vaccine, one of them is regular table salt. Salt keeps the pH of the vaccine close to the pH of your body!
4. Sugar
Just plain ol’ sucrose. Sucrose acts as a cryoprotectant to protect the nanoparticles, in layperson terms, this stops them from sticking together.
THE DOSE is your science-backed guide to Covid-19 vaccines, from Tia. In service of science-backed public health, share THE DOSE with a friend!