55 Undeclared Chemical Elements — Including Heavy Metals — Found in COVID Vaccines

Argentine scientists identified 55 chemical elements — not listed on package inserts — in a study of the six major COVID-19 vaccine brands. The research, which confirms previous studies, sparked calls for transparency and further investigation.

by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

OCTOBER 15, 2024

A group of Argentine scientists identified 55 chemical elements — not listed on package inserts — in the Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, CanSino, Sinopharm and Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccines, according to a study published last week in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research.

The chemical elements include 11 heavy metals — such as chromium, arsenic, nickel, aluminum, cobalt and copper — which scientists consider systemic toxicants known to be carcinogenic and to induce organ damage, even at low exposure levels.

The samples also contained 11 of the 15 lanthanides, or rare earth elements, that are heavier, silvery metals often used in manufacturing. These chemical elements, which include lanthanum, cerium and gadolinium, are lesser known to the general public than heavy metals but have also been shown to be highly toxic.

“The detection of multiple undeclared toxic elements, including heavy metals and lanthanides, in COVID-19 vaccines raises a dual and multiplied concern for human health,” James Lyons-Weiler, Ph.D., a member of the journal’s editorial board who was not involved in the research, told The Defender. “Individually, these chemicals are known to cause neurological, cardiovascular and immunological damage.”

“Together, their synergistic toxicity could exacerbate these risks far beyond what regulators and manufacturers have disclosed or studied,” Lyons-Weiler added.

The research builds on a series of studies conducted since 2021 using different analytic techniques to analyze COVID-19 vaccine vials from major manufacturers. Previous studies also identified significant numbers of chemical elements not listed on vaccine labels.

Research efforts included a 2022 study by a German working group, including the late pathologist Arne Burkhardt, submitted to the German government; a 2021 study by scientists in England; a 2022 study by Canadian Dr. Daniel Nagase; and a 2023 Romanian study by Dr. Geanina Hagimă.

Across those global studies, by the end of 2023, researchers had identified 24 undeclared chemical elements in the COVID-19 vaccine formulas.

Marcela Sangorrín, Ph.D., co-author of the Argentine study, told The Defender these different international studies are important because there is “a significant gap in the quality control of biological products by the national regulatory authorities of each country.”

“This situation is even more urgent and concerning when we consider the rapid advancements observed in cutting-edge biotechnological developments, the complexity of which requires a more thorough legislative and regulatory framework to ensure the safety of individuals who choose to use these therapies,” Sangorrín said.

CDC makes vaccine excipient information ‘almost impossible to find’

For the Argentine study, researchers aimed to corroborate the previous findings of undeclared elements and to detect and measure any elements not identified in those studies.

They analyzed 13 vials from different lots of six brands of the COVID-19 vaccines at a lab at the National University of Córdoba. They used a highly sensitive analytic technique — inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry — which makes it possible to measure elements at trace levels in biological fluids.

The researchers analyzed at least two vials of each vaccine, except for CanSino, a viral vector vaccine made in China, for which they analyzed only one vial.

Their paper included a long list of COVID-19 vaccine components declared by the manufacturers. The components vary by vaccine maker. The researchers obtained the lists through public information requests.

With the exception of Sputnik V and Sinopharm, manufacturers don’t declare the quantities of the named excipients in their vaccines, which the researchers flagged as a “very serious omission at the regulatory level.”

Vaccines often include excipients — additives used as preservatives, adjuvants, stabilizers or for other purposes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), substances used in the manufacture of a vaccine but not listed in the contents of the final product should be listed somewhere in the package insert.

Listing excipients is important, researchers argue because excipients can include allergens and other “hidden dangers” for vaccine recipients.

OpenVAERS reports that the CDC has made publicly available vaccine excipient information “almost impossible to find.” OpenVAERS offers a comprehensive list of vaccine of excipients by type and by vaccine.

However, the OpenVAERS website also notes that independent tests of vaccine vials have found “contaminants that go well beyond those publicly disclosed by the manufacturers,” as identified in this study.

The researchers found the results of their chemical analysis varied by vaccine and also by vial tested. In some cases, the vials were subjected to repeated testing on different dates and produced slightly different results.

In one lot of the AstraZeneca vaccine, researchers identified 15 chemical elements, of which 14 were undeclared. In the other lot, they detected 21 elements of which 20 were undeclared. In the CanSino vial, they identified 22 elements, of which 20 were undeclared.

The three Pfizer vials contained 19, 16 and 21-23 undeclared elements respectively. The Moderna vials contained 21 and between 16-29 undeclared elements. The Sinopharm vials contained between 17-23 undeclared elements and the Sputnik V contained between 19-25 undetected elements.

82% of vaccines tested contained undeclared arsenic

Overall, researchers identified 55 different undeclared elements across the 17 samples analyzed.

All of the heavy metals detected are linked to toxic effects on human health, the researchers wrote. Although the metals occurred in different frequencies, many were present across multiple samples.

“There are undeclared chemical elements in common, such as boron, calcium, titanium, aluminum, arsenic, nickel, chromium, copper, gallium, strontium, niobium, molybdenum, barium and hafnium in all of the brands” of COVID-19 vaccines, the researchers wrote.

Others, such as chromium and arsenic, which increase the risk of serious cancers and skin diseases, were present as undeclared elements in 100% and 82% of the samples respectively. The researchers also found the lanthanide cerium, which can damage the liver and cause lung embolisms, in 76% of the samples.

These chemical elements are just a few examples of the 62 undeclared chemical elements identified by this study and previous studies combined, the researchers wrote.

They concluded that given the “diversity and notable presence in all brands, along with the peculiar characteristics of the elements found,” is unlikely the findings are due to contamination or accidental adulteration.

‘Utmost urgency’ that governments investigate these products

The researchers, who said the exploratory study was limited by the small sample size, called for a broader analysis of a larger number of samples. They suggested the broader analysis would confirm the trends they identified.

Sangorrín said this should be the work of government researchers.

“It is of utmost urgency that governments around the world conduct relevant investigations into these products, as is typically done in response to quality complaints identified through pharmacovigilance,” she said.

Those seeking justice, she added, must call on the World Health Organization, the pharmaceutical companies and governments to take urgent action, “in accordance with the severity of the situation, given the rise in global mortality rates, recorded adverse effects and the clear demonstration that these products were not developed with the intention of providing immunity.”

The authors underscored the high rates of serious adverse events, including deaths, associated globally with the COVID-19 vaccines. They suggested the adverse events and deaths, which are likely substantially undercounted, could be linked to the toxins they identified.

Lyons-Weiler also called for regulatory action to protect public health.

“Regulatory agencies must take immediate action to halt the use of these vaccines, thoroughly investigate how these toxins were missed, and ensure that the full spectrum of ingredients is transparently declared and the public duly and fully warned,” he said.

“The public’s health can no longer be gambled with in the face of such profound uncertainties.”

Brenda Baletti, Ph.D.

Brenda Baletti, Ph.D., is a senior reporter for The Defender. She wrote and taught about capitalism and politics for 10 years in the writing program at Duke University. She holds a Ph.D. in human geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s from the University of Texas at Austin.