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Flucelvax

This is a quadrivalent flu vaccine

 

For a more detailed explanation of some of the ingredients, see this article: https://www.wired.com/2014/11/whats-inside-flu-shot/

Ingredients:

Active ingredients:

Hemagglutinin (a protein from influenza virus that acts as an antigen) from 4 types of influenza (flu) virus: 

  • H1N1

  • H3N2

  • Victoria lineage

  • Yamagata lineage

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Flucelvax is a subunit vaccine, so it does not contain the whole virus. As a result, you cannot get the flu from the vaccine.

Inactive ingredients:
Amounts are based on a 0.5 mL dose

Solvent: the liquid that the other ingredients are dissolved in

Preservatives: prevent bacterial growth and contamination

*Thimerosal is only in multi-dose vials of flu vaccines, which means that one vial of vaccine contains multiple doses. As a result, the container would be reused, so it needs a preservative to prevent contamination between the different uses from the same vial.

Manufacturing Byproducts:

Relevant Terms

  • Antibody: a protein made by the immune system in response to a foreign particle (antigen). These proteins circulate in the blood and help defend the body against the substance.  

  • Antigen: This is any substance that triggers the immune system to create antibodies. For example, allergens such as pollen are antigens. 

  • pH: a measure of how acidic or basic a solution is. The scale ranges from 0 (very acidic) to 14 (very basic). A pH of 7 is neutral.

  • Quadrivalent: protects against four different serotypes of the pathogen (in this case, influenza virus)

Relevant terms

Sources

Last updated: Sep. 17 2023

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