Page 81 - Spring2020

confirm additional serious vaccine reactions QUESTIONABLE INGREDIENTS
that include cellulitis, cerebellar ataxia, convul- Ingredients included in varicella-only vaccines include a weakened
sions, encephalitis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, form of the varicella virus; bovine calf serum or fetal bovine serum; hy-
necrotizing fasciitis, osteomyelitis, seizures, drolyzed gelatin; monosodium L-glutamate (MSG); and human MRC-5
septic arthritis, septicemia, shingles, thrombo- cells (including DNA and protein), among other ingredients (see side-
cytopenia, toxic shock syndrome, transverse bar). The combination MMR-plus-varicella formulations also include
7
myelitis and death. genetically-engineered human albumin and sorbitol (a highly processed
In the first three years of the varicella vac- sweetener often made from corn and associated with digestive distress).
7
cine’s use—between 1995 and 1998—VAERS The FDA claims that all of these ingredients are safe when used
received more than sixty-seven adverse event in vaccine production, but one could easily argue the contrary. For ex-
reports per one hundred thousand doses of ample, scientific studies conducted in Japan in the early 1990s identified
vaccine administered (or about one in fifteen anaphylactic reactions associated with gelatin in vaccines, but vaccine
8
hundred). Approximately 4 percent of those manufacturers continue to use gelatin as a stabilizer in eleven vaccines
reports described serious adverse reactions. licensed and distributed in the U.S. Additionally, studies by Massachusetts
However, the true number was likely closer to Institute of Technology scientist Stephanie Seneff have shown that all
one hundred adverse events per fifteen hundred commercial gelatin used in the U.S. is contaminated with the herbicide
doses. This is because a report commissioned glyphosate (Roundup) as a result of current animal feeding practices. 9
by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Manufacturers use MSG as both a preservative and stabilizer to keep
Services concluded that fewer than 1 percent varicella vaccines effective in response to heat, light, acidity and humid-
of all vaccine adverse events are ever reported ity. Most of us know of MSG as a flavor enhancer added to Chinese food,
to VAERS. canned vegetables, soups and processed meats, and some of us may have
6

WHAT’S IN THAT VACCINE—AND WHY IS IT THERE?

In addition to the antigen (the weakened form of the virus), Merck’s varicella-only and herpes zoster vaccines include
ingredients such as the following:

• Bovine calf serum or fetal bovine serum: component of growth medium
• Ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA): preservative (also a chelating agent)
• Hydrolyzed gelatin (bovine or porcine): stabilizer
• Monosodium L-glutamate (MSG): stabilizer
• Neomycin: antibacterial
• Potassium chloride: medium nutrient, adjusts pH and tonicity
• Sodium chloride: adjusts tonicity
• Potassium phosphate monobasic, sodium phosphate monobasic and/or sodium phosphate dibasic: adjusts pH
• Sucrose: stabilizer
• Human MRC-5 cells (including DNA and protein): “manufacturing residue”
• Urea: stabilizer

Merck’s combination MMRV vaccine includes similar ingredients plus recombinant (genetically-engineered) human
albumin (used as a component of the growth medium) and sorbitol (used as a stabilizer and solvent).

The ingredients of GlaxoSmithKline’s Shingrix vaccine include a genetically-engineered form of the virus as well as
many of the same ingredients as Merck’s vaccines. In addition, Shingrix contains:

• QS-21 and MPL: adjuvant suspension
• Dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine (DOPC): adjuvant
• Cholesterol
• Polysorbate 80: surfactant
• Host cell protein and DNA

SPRING 2020 Wise Traditions 81