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This electron microscope image shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (yellow) emerging from the surface of cells (pink). (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) This electron microscope image shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (yellow) emerging from the surface of cells (pink). (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

This electron microscope image shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (yellow) emerging from the surface of cells (pink). (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

Monique Curet
By Monique Curet October 22, 2021

COVID-19 vaccines do not include non-biological components

If Your Time is short

The list of ingredients for COVID-19 vaccines is published and does not include non-biological components such as graphene chips or nanochips.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specifies that COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals and manufactured products, including microelectronics.

The German Society for Pathology denounced information from the symposium where the claim originated and said the data was not based in science. 

A German symposium billed as a gathering of physicians and pathologists included bold, unfounded claims about "undeclared" components of COVID-19 vaccines and deaths from vaccinations.

Summarizing information from the event, one blogger wrote that pathologists found "a host of non-biological components ... in the blood of vaccinated people," including graphene chips and nanochips. 

But the claim is not supported by evidence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention publishes a list of ingredients for COVID-19 vaccines, which does not include non-biological components. The CDC also specifies that COVID-19 vaccines are free from metals and manufactured products, including microelectronics. 

Also, the German Society for Pathology said it "distances itself sharply" from the symposium, which the organization noted was led by two retired pathologists and an electrical engineer. The society said the data was not based in science. 

The blog post says the session at the symposium where the "non-biological components" were discussed was titled, "Undeclared Components of Covid-19 Vaccines." We could not identify any information to corroborate the claim that the vaccines have undeclared components. 

Sign up for PolitiFact texts

The only active ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines is messenger ribonucleic acid, known as mRNA, which contains genetic instructions for your body about how to make proteins present on the COVID-19 virus. That allows the body to respond to the foreign proteins by building an immune response. Inactive ingredients in the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines include lipids (which are fats), salts, acids and acid stabilizers, and sugars.

The active ingredient in the AstraZeneca vaccine is a weakened adenovirus, which is a common cold, that has been modified with genetic material from the coronavirus. 

The symposium was not the first time we’ve seen false claims about COVID-19 vaccines and foreign substances, including graphene and nanochips. PolitiFact and other fact checkers debunked claims about graphene after Spanish researchers said they had discovered it in Pfizer’s vaccine. And there is no evidence vaccines contain nanochips.

Our ruling

Writing about a German symposium, a blogger said pathologists found "a host of non-biological components ... in the blood of vaccinated people," including graphene chips and nanochips. 

The claim is not supported by evidence. The published list of ingredients for COVID-19 vaccines does not include non-biological components and specifically says the vaccines are free from metals and manufactured products, including microelectronics. The German Society for Pathology disavowed the symposium and said its findings were not scientifically sound. 

We rate this claim Pants on Fire! 

 

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COVID-19 vaccines do not include non-biological components

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