Vaccines: What Goes Into Them and What Are Their Effects on the Body? 

Vaccines are created to stop pathogens from assuming control of our bodies and making us ill. When your body gets infected by a pathogen (disease-causing agent) for the first time, its natural response involves our defense system — the immune system. Our immune system produces antibodies that will work to recognize and then defend against the pathogen, also upon future exposures, as the memory of the pathogen remains. The response is faster and better the next time. This produces immunity to the pathogen and stops the disease it causes. 

At times, the immune systems may not be strong or fast enough to recognize these disease-causing pathogen on time and remove it from the body or from causing damage to the body.

Vaccination helps treat infectious diseases by stimulating the production of antibodies in the body before exposure to the infectious agent, providing some or complete immunity against a disease. Vaccines are made from weakened or inactive antigens of the causative agent of a disease, its products, or protein information carriers that prompt the body to make specific antigens without inducing the disease.

Vaccines aim to provide controlled exposure to an antigen to prepare our immune system so it can battle the specific disease and won’t cause us harm in the future. 

But what goes into vaccines, and what are their effects on the body?

Ingredients Used in Some Vaccines

There are many vaccines available. Current immunization programs help protect against the following [1]:

  1. Diphtheria
  2. Tetanus
  3. Pertussis
  4. Poliomyelitis
  5. Measles
  6. Mumps
  7. Rubella
  8. Pneumococcal pneumonia
  9. Smallpox
  10. Sepsis
  11. Meningitis
  12. Hepatitis B
  13. Varicella-zoster
  14. Tuberculosis
  15. Cholera
  16. Diarrhea caused by rotavirus
  17. Salmonellosis
  18. Dengue

Different vaccines will contain other ingredients. The following are ingredients commonly found in some vaccines:

  • Antigens – Weakened or inactive antigens derived from the specific pathogen in minimal quantities are the main component in vaccines from which an adaptive (acquired) immune response within the body is the goal.
  • The blueprint for producing the antigens — Such as in new mRNA vaccines. The messenger RNA instructs the cells to produce the antigen. Then, when the body’s immune system comes in contact with these foreign proteins, it produces antibodies and other immune cells to fight what seems to the body as an infection. Then, if the immune system encounters the actual pathogen, it will have a rapid response. 
  • Stabilizers, surfactants, and emulsifiers – Chemical stabilizers may be added to live vaccines to enhance virus stability. The main ingredients of stabilizers are hydrolyzed gelatin, sucrose, sorbitol, and other sugars. [2] Polysorbate 80 (PS 80) is a surfactant and emulsifier used in the papillomavirus vaccine. In the production of PS 80, sorbitol is produced, which makes the vaccine cloudy. To make the vaccine clear and colorless, sorbitol is removed by adding silicon dioxide and organosilicon, which are toxic. They disrupt biochemical processes due to the artificial silicon-carbon bonds. [3-4] The toxicity may lead to cognitive dysfunction and rapid heartbeat and may cause any accumulated mercury already present in one’s body to form methyl-mercury, a toxin. [5]
  • Adjuvants – An adjuvant is a substance added to some vaccines to stimulate and enhance the magnitude and durability of the immune response. [6] Basically, adjuvants help create a more robust immune response in people. Adjuvants commonly used include aluminum salts, such as aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, and aluminum potassium sulfate. These adjuvants usually cause local reactions, including swelling and pain at the injection site, and systemic responses, including fever and body aches. Aluminum is toxic in high amounts, and if vaccines were the only exposure to aluminum, they would be low risk compared to the benefits of using vaccines. However, exposure to aluminum is high from cooking pots, pans, utensils, foods, hygiene products, OTC medications, and foil, making exposure to this element very high and dangerous, especially at a young age. Aluminum will accumulate in the body and when in adjuvant form, carries a risk for autoimmunity, long-term brain inflammation, and associated neurological complications. [7] Aluminum is found in diphtheria, tetanus, and poliomyelitis vaccines given to teenagers and in polio vaccinations and diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccinations given to children as preschool boosters from age three and up. Some vaccines have no adjuvant, including chickenpox, live zoster, measles, mumps & rubella (MMR), meningococcus, rotavirus, most seasonal influenzas, polio (IPOL), yellow fever, and early childhood vaccinations (those given before age 3).
  • Residual inactivating ingredients – Inactivating ingredients are used in vaccines to eliminate viruses or inactivate toxins during the vaccine’s manufacturing process. An example of a residual inactivating element includes formaldehyde, which has raised public concern. Formaldehyde is extensively used in the formulation of both viral and bacterial vaccines. While formaldehyde has numerous adverse effects on health, regulatory authorities allow the use of formaldehyde in vaccines because the quantities have been determined acceptable due to the low quantity and high removal efficiency. [8]
  • Residual cell culture material – The purpose of cell culture materials in vaccines is to grow enough of the pathogen to make the vaccine. Some residues may remain in the final product. An example of residual cell culture material is egg protein. Vaccines may be prepared using embryonated chicken eggs, including flu (influenza), rabies, and yellow fever vaccines. The vaccines cultured in eggs or chick embryos may have egg protein residues which may induce anaphylaxis or other immediate allergic reactions, often in people with egg protein (ovalbumin) antigen. 
  • Residual antibiotics – Antibiotics may be used in vaccines during the vaccine manufacturing process to prevent contamination by bacteria since many vaccines are produced in tissue culture. The purification process to make the final vaccine cannot remove all the antibiotics, so there’s a residue. However, antibiotics that people are most commonly allergic to, such as penicillin and cephalosporins, are not used in vaccines. The antibiotic neomycin may be found in detectable quantities but not at a level to produce antibiotic resistance.
  • Preservatives – Some vaccines also contain preservatives, which prevent contamination. Thiomersal is the preservative ethylmercurithiosalicylate, which breaks down to produce ethyl mercury. Mercury is a potent antibacterial, yet it is also a neurotoxin, even at low levels. Most vaccines today do not have thiomersal, such as the mumps, measles, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus vaccine, do not have thimerosal as a preservative but do have traces from the manufacturing process. Multi-dose vials of influenza vaccines have thimerosal; single-dose vials do not. 

Common Side Effects of Vaccines

Following administration, most vaccines carry a small risk of symptoms, including [9]:

  • Fever – mild fever that may last 1-3 days
  • Fatigue – may be accompanied by chills and headache
  • Myalgias – muscle aches and pains

Anaphylaxis is an extremely rare complication following vaccine administration and may occur in response to one of the ingredients in the vaccine. Sensitivity or anaphylaxis may occur to one of these ingredients, including aluminum, thiomersal, gelatin, sorbitol, emulsifiers, antibiotics, yeast proteins, egg proteins, latex, formaldehyde, acidity regulators, bovine products, and GMOs.

Another rare complication of vaccination is Guillain-Barre Syndrome. This severe autoimmune condition causes a person’s immune system to affect the body’s nervous system by harming the nerves’ protective covering (myelin sheath). The nerve damage prevents the transmission of signals to the brain, causing weakness, numbness, or paralysis. Initially, there are feelings of tingling in the hands and feet, rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, and double vision or eye troubles. The tingling sensations can then spread throughout the body, eventually causing paralysis. Most people recover completely, yet some cases can, extremely unfortunately, be fatal. Guillain-Barre syndrome requires immediate hospitalization to increase the chances of a better outcome. Recovery from this syndrome may take several months to years. Walking again usually is possible after six months. Some people have lasting effects, including weakness, numbness, and fatigue. If the syndrome occurs within six weeks of receiving of a vaccine, there is a contraindication to vaccinating. COVID-19 vaccinations or a viral infection may trigger Guillain-Barre syndrome. 

Other autoimmune conditions triggered by vaccines (although rarely) include rheumatoid arthritis, idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura, myopericarditis, ovarian failure, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). [10]

People genetically inclined (with a family history of autoimmunity or with known autoantibodies) to develop the autoimmune disease may consider avoiding vaccination.

Reversible leukopenia and thrombocytopenia have been reported in some patients after the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine [11]. 

The heavy metals platinum and rubidium are used in manufacturing but do not appear in the end product (the vaccine). [12]

To conclude

Although vaccination has been very successful in reducing or removing many childhood diseases that used to kill many young children before they reached the age of five, it is still wise to understand the potential harm of these vaccines and avoid them when they are unnecessary. You can do this by opting for single-dose vaccines with fewer preservatives and less formaldehyde. Most early childhood vaccines do not have aluminum or egg proteins; the boosters do have them and, therefore, should be taken separately.

Maintaining a low-toxin lifestyle, as mentioned throughout this book, to prevent the accumulation of substances in the body at toxic levels that can negatively affect your health will help prevent most damaging effects of regular vaccines.

Regarding the new mRNA vaccines, the technology is new, with little regulatory guidance available regarding product characterization and quality control. Therefore, before sound testing strategies to identify, measure, and control the safety and efficacy of these vaccines exist, each person should make their own decision about whether or not to get vaccinated or risk becoming infected by the pathogen when you are strong, allowing the body to form antigens on its own and heal itself. Do this only when your immunity is strong, your dietary habits are good and you supplement with key immune-enhancing supplements.

References

  • Justiz Vaillant AA, Grella MJ. Vaccine (Vaccination) [Updated 2022 Jul 8]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532895/
  • Kamali-Jamil R, Shayestehpour M, Sadigh ZA, Taqavian M, Shahkarami MK, Esna-Ashari F, Shahbazi R, Mohammadi A, Foroughi A, Romani B. The Effect of Various Stabilizers on Preserving Immunogenicity of Lyophilized Mumps Vaccines. J Res Health Sci. 2017 Sep 12;17(4):393. PMCID: PMC7189945
  • Brawer AE (2017) Mechanisms of breast implant toxicity: will the real ringmaster please stand up. Int Ann Med 1: 249.
  • Brawer AE (2017) Is silicone breast implant toxicity an extreme form of a more generalized toxicity adversely affecting the population as a whole? Int Ann Med 1: 347.
  • Brawer AE (2019) Hidden Toxicity of Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Ingredients. J Rheum Dis Treat 5:075. doi.org/10.23937/2469-5726/1510075
  • Pulendran B, S Arunachalam P, O’Hagan DT. Emerging concepts in the science of vaccine adjuvants. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2021 Jun;20(6):454-475. doi: 10.1038/s41573-021-00163-y. Epub 2021 Apr 6. PMID: 33824489; PMCID: PMC8023785
  • Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Aluminum vaccine adjuvants: are they safe? Curr Med Chem. 2011;18(17):2630-7. doi: 10.2174/092986711795933740. PMID: 21568886.
  • Löffler P. Review: Vaccine Myth-Buster – Cleaning Up With Prejudices and Dangerous Misinformation. Front Immunol. 2021 Jun 10;12:663280. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2021.663280. PMID: 34177902; PMCID: PMC8222972.
  • Ginglen JG, Doyle MQ. Immunization. [Updated 2022 May 9]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459331/
  • Vadalà M, Poddighe D, Laurino C, Palmieri B. Vaccination and autoimmune diseases: is prevention of adverse health effects on the horizon? EPMA J. 2017 Jul 20;8(3):295-311. doi: 10.1007/s13167-017-0101-y. PMID: 29021840; PMCID: PMC5607155.
  • Bizjak M, Bruck O, Kanduc D, Praprotnik S, Shoenfeld Y. Vaccinations and secondary immune thrombocytopenia with antiphospholipid antibodies by human papillomavirus vaccine. Semin Hematol. 2016 Apr;53 Suppl 1:S48-50. doi: 10.1053/j.seminhematol.2016.04.014. Epub 2016 Apr 7. PMID: 27312165.
  • Brawer AE (2017) Mechanisms of breast implant toxicity: will the real ringmaster please stand up. Int Ann Med 1: 249.

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