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Q: Is there graphene oxide in the Covid-19 vaccine? Is it harmful? Why are they not adding this product?

Krishna: 

No! No WHO authorized vaccines produced by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, CanSino, Sinovac, Sputnik V, or Janssen contain graphene oxide.

The ingredient list for almost all vaccines in use have been published. They were not found to contain any graphene oxide in their formulas, including their lipid nanoparticles.

Lipid nanoparticles, basically tiny balls of fat, are used in mRNA vaccines to protect delicate RNA molecules so the vaccine can enter the human body without being destroyed. Lipid nanoparticles have been recognized as potential drug delivery systems (ways to get medications into human cells, especially injectable drugs) since the 1960s. Lipids are fatty, oily, or waxy and include fats and oils (triglycerides), waxes, and steroids, among other things.

Sometimes a compound called polyethylene glycol (PEG) can be used to help keep lipid nanoparticles stable, as they are used in the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. However, there is no graphene oxide in the PEG-lipid nanoparticles.

Graphene oxide : Image source: Google images

Image source: Biolinscientific

GRAPHENE OXIDE (GO) is the oxidized form of graphene. It is a single-atomic-layered material that is formed by the oxidation of graphite which is cheap and readily available. Graphene oxide is easy to process since it is dispersible in water and other solvents.

Graphene oxide is a compound that contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. It is used in many applications, from sensors to textiles to the potential application of medicine. This material is cheap, readily available, and can disperse in water. It is water soluble, so it may be a great solution for helping medications be absorbed. It can be produced as a powder or a solution for various uses.

Graphene oxide may be a useful tool in vaccine delivery in the future, because scientists and chemical engineers think it can be engineered to be a safe delivery vehicle for vaccines, and help increase their effectiveness. Like lipid nanoparticles, graphene oxide is also a nanoparticle and has recently been used in an intranasal influenza vaccine platform with promising results.

Additionally, these nanoparticles have been shown to increase macrophages and T cells, which can boost our immune systems and generate potentially stronger immune responses. Recent studies have shown that graphene and graphene-related materials may have antiviral and antimicrobial properties, so evaluating them for use in medication and vaccine design is warranted.

While certain amounts of graphene oxide could be toxic to humans, current research on the use of this compound in other vaccines indicate that the amount that would be in potential vaccines would be so small that it would not be toxic to human cells. A 2016 study showed that graphene-base materials (like graphene oxide) might cause dose-dependent toxicity, decreased cell viability, formations of lung granuloma, and cell apoptosis. Notably, these studies were performed on mice, but graphene oxide specifically showed no obvious toxicity at low doses or middle doses from 0.1 to 0.25 mg. It was chronically toxic at higher doses of 0.4 mg, where it was found to deposit in the lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys. It is important to note that this 0.4 mg of graphene oxide is proportionally much greater in mice than it would be in humans, considering their size and biological differences. Further, this study was completed 10 years ago and the graphene oxide was not chemically engineered in a manner that may make it safer or more tolerable for living organisms.

Many more studies and trials are needed to determine whether or not graphene oxide is an effective, completely safe, and useful material for biomedical applications including drug delivery, imaging, and biosensors. Current research on the compound has produced mixed results.

Until its effectiveness is proved and safety established it can’t be used just like that in vaccines.

Q: Israel reports 60% of patients hospitalized with COVID are fully vaccinated. Is this a regional anomaly, or are we being given inaccurate data by the CDC?

Krishna: Which statistics should you believe? The best advice is to step back and look at the bigger picture.

You just cannot give results for vaccinated Vs unvaccinated. Mention about Immunocompromised vaccinated, people over 65 vaccinated, people with comorbidities vaccinated, people who were vaccinated long ago and whose immunity is waning, people who are malnourished and vaccinated, apart from variant Vs people vaccinated, potency of vaccine due to storage conditions and date of manufacturing, gender of the patients. There are several factors that decide the outcomes.

A very good analysis matches different levels of age risk on the Israeli data and shows that even though the absolute number of vaccinated hospitalised cases was more than the unvaccinated hospitalisations, the Pfizer vaccine still showed good effectiveness against severe disease.

The chart below, prepared from figures via Our World in Data, show the cases, deaths, and vaccinations for Israel across the entire pandemic. Israel experienced three waves ( and now fourth), with the third being after the start of vaccinations. It showed dramatically fewer deaths in the third wave, even though case numbers were high (for Israel, the highest of the three waves).

Image source: ourworldindata.org

The rates are higher for unvaccinated people in all age groups

At-risk people were always more likely to be hospitalised and die.

Like somebody put it, when this pandemic winds down, there could be a day when there is only one hospitalised COVID patient. If that patient were to be vaccinated, would we say that 100% of hospitalised patients are vaccinated, and therefore the vaccines don’t work?

We need to look at the numbers over the whole course of the pandemic to see things more clearly. A single set of numbers does not show the whole picture.

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