COVID-19 vaccines do not contain graphene, are not experimental and have published ingredients

A viral video includes a laundry list of previously debunked claims about COVID-19 vaccines, offered by people known for spreading misinformation.

A Jan. 22 Facebook post has a caption that says, "What Is In The mRNA Vaccines? You need to watch this video!," with a link to a 14-minute-long video. The Facebook post was shared by Ben Swann, a self-described journalist who has spread pandemic-related misinformation in the past.

Those speaking in the video say a German doctor discovered that the COVID-19 vaccines include graphene oxide or graphene hydroxide. One of the speakers also says, "Because these injections are experimental and they're only being used under the EUA, we do not know the full list of ingredients that's in them. No one knows."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

All of the claims have been thoroughly debunked.

COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any form of graphene, according to multiple fact-checks.

The vaccines are not experimental. They have undergone months of clinical testing; data shows they are both safe and effective; and they have been safely administered to hundreds of millions of Americans.

And the full list of ingredients for all three vaccines approved for use in the U.S. — Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — has been shared by manufacturers.

In the video, Jeremy Slayden, a former professional baseball player, makes several false statements, including around the 20-second mark when he says there was "a German doctor, Andreas Noack, who was murdered last week after he reported that graphene oxide was actually in the vaccines" — a claim PolitiFact has rated False. Slayden ultimately asked the panel what is in the vaccines.

At the 2:17 mark, Dr. Larry Pavlevsky, a pediatrician who has opposed vaccines, addresses the question, saying that the German doctor, Noack, "found that it wasn’t graphene oxide that was in it, it was graphene hydroxide," which "breaks apart in the bloodstream and causes razor blade cuts" to the lining of blood vessels.

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COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any form of graphene.

A Pfizer spokesperson in October confirmed that while graphene oxide is used in some vaccines, it is not used at Pfizer and is not in its COVID-19 vaccine. A full list of ingredients for all the vaccines is available on the CDC website..

Regarding Slayden’s question about what is in the vaccines, Pavlevsky answered "Because these injections are experimental and they're only being used under the EUA, we do not know the full list of ingredients that's in them. No one knows."

The vaccines are not experimental. They were tested in clinical trials with tens of thousands of participants, and drug makers submitted reports on the outcomes and effects on every participant, PolitFact reported. The vaccines have been safely administered to hundreds of millions of Americans.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has granted full approval to the Pfizer vaccine for those 16 and older.

Also, the Emergency Use Authorization that Pavlevsky referenced is only issued after a comprehensive review of the trial data. "Clinical trial results and other requirements for emergency use are little different from what is required for final approval," PolitiFact reported.

Despite Pavlevsky’s assertion that "we do not know the full list of ingredients," those lists have been published by manufacturers.

A Facebook post links to a video that says a German doctor discovered the COVID-19 vaccines include graphene oxide or graphene hydroxide. A speaker in the video also says, "Because these injections are experimental and they're only being used under the EUA, we do not know the full list of ingredients that's in them. No one knows."

COVID-19 vaccines do not contain any form of graphene. They are not experimental. And the full list of ingredients has been published by manufacturers.

We rate this claim False.