Fact Check: COVID-19 Vaccines Do NOT Contain Graphene Oxide

Not Ingredient

Do any of the COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the United States contain graphene oxide? No, that’s not true: Graphene oxide is not listed as an ingredient in any of the four COVID-19 vaccines available in the U.S. There is no publicly available credible evidence demonstrating graphene oxide is in any of the vaccines.

The claim that graphene oxide is in vaccines went viral on social media after a provisional report dated June 28, 2021, was published. It was produced by Professor Pablo Campra of the University of Almeria in Spain at the request of Ricardo Delgado, who runs the website laquintacolumna.net. Subsequent reporting made it sound as if a team of researchers at the university had worked on this analysis, but this was not the case.

On July 2, 2021, the University of Almeria posted a public statement on Twitter that clarified that the analysis and report was not produced by the university and threatened legal action against those spreading the false allegation. Since that time many anti-vaccine narratives have developed that are based on the false assertion that the vaccines contain graphene oxide. They don’t.

What is graphene oxide?

Graphite is a three-dimensional carbon crystal. Graphene is a single layer of this honeycomb-shaped carbon lattice that is only one molecule thick. It is considered a two-dimensional material. Graphene oxide, an oxidized form, can be dispersed in water and other solvents. Graphene was only discovered in 2004, and there are many potential uses for the new material being studied. Britannica.com has a video that introduces some of the potential applications scientists are looking into such as flexible solar panels and touch screen displays.

What is not in the vaccines

On the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there is a one-page Overview of Covid-19 Vaccines that describes the four vaccines available, how they differ, their safety, side effects and adverse events. The overview provides a general list of what is not in any of the vaccines. The sixth point lists some things that have been featured in anti-vaccine disinformation narratives regarding graphene:

These vaccines are given as a shot in the muscle of the upper arm or in the thigh of a young child. COVID-19 vaccine ingredients are considered safe for most people. Nearly all of the ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are ingredients found in many foods–fats, sugar, and salts. None of the COVID-19 vaccines affect or interact with our DNA and the following are not included in the vaccines:

• No preservatives such as thimerosal or mercury or any other preservatives.
• No antibiotics such as sulfonamide or any other antibiotics.
• No medicines or therapeutics such as ivermectin or any other medications.
• No tissues such as aborted fetal cells, gelatin, or any materials from any animal.
• No food proteins such as eggs or egg products, gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, nut products, or any nut byproducts. (COVID-19 vaccines are not manufactured in facilities that produce food products).
• No metals such as iron, nickel, cobalt, titanium, or rare earth alloys. They also do not have any manufactured products like microelectronics, electrodes, carbon nanotubes or other nanostructures, or nanowire semiconductors.
• No latex. The vial stoppers used to hold the vaccine also do not contain latex.

What is in the vaccines

The CDC overview briefly describes each of the four vaccines. Each entry can be expanded to show information about the date of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval or Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for each age group, and if there was a name change. For each vaccine, the list of ingredients is broken down by type and purpose of each ingredient. There are also hyperlinks to the FDA fact sheets for each vaccine (offered below). There is no graphene oxide listed as an ingredient in any of these vaccines:

Previous fact checks featuring graphene claims

Below is a collection of some false claims Lead Stories has debunked that grew from this baseless graphene oxide rumor: