Fact-check: Does the Pfizer vaccine contain living organisms that can cause sickness?
Facebook posts: Pfizer vaccine contains living particles that can germinate to cause sickness.
PolitiFact rating: Pants on Fire!
Here's why: A 17-minute video posted to Facebook shows a Swedish doctor claiming that the Pfizer vaccine contains particles that could germinate and cause illness in those who get vaccinated.
The doctor is Erik Enby, whose medical license was revoked in 2007 after two cancer patients in his care died following his prescriptions of fungicides, herbs and vitamins, according to Swedish news reports.
In the Facebook video, which has since been removed from the platform but exists on other platforms like Reddit, Enby displayed images on his computer that he claimed showed a microscopic view of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The particles moving on the screen, he said, were living microorganisms.
"I believe it has to do with development of illness. I think (the particles) can germinate in the body and if they do, there will be further growth development and all sorts of uncontrollable byproducts," Enby said.
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Enby also claimed that a vaccinated person could stop the living particles from germinating by taking vitamins and supplements.
The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed.
Health experts say there’s no truth to it. PolitiFact debunked a similarly false claim that the Pfizer vaccine contained a parasite.
The ingredients for Pfizer vaccines are chemical components — not living organisms, said Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.
"There is no evidence that there are living particles in doses of the Pfizer vaccine. There is no accuracy to this claim," Adalja said.
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Pfizer spokesperson Kit Longley wouldn’t comment on the video, but told PolitiFact that the vaccine’s messenger RNA technology helps the body recognize the COVID-19 virus’ spike proteins and produce antibodies to fight off infection.
"The messenger RNA is injected into the body and enters cells, where it provides instructions to produce antigens, the substance that causes your immune system to produce antibodies," Longley said. "The cell then presents the antigens to the immune system, prompting responses that can fight the disease. This process presents the body with the instructions to build immunity."
Volker Mai, associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Florida, said he hasn’t come across peer-reviewed evidence of contamination in the Pfizer vaccines.
"Contamination with spores or other microbial material can theoretically happen during production of any biologic, including vaccines," Mai said. "However, quality control is extensive and monitoring occurs continuously. Thus, it is highly unlikely that any contaminated batch would make it into the market."
PolitiFact reached out to Enby for evidence to support his claim, but didn’t hear back.
Our ruling
Enby claimed in a Facebook video that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contained living particles that could germinate and cause illness in vaccinated people.
Health experts say this is false. The Pfizer mRNA vaccine does not contain any living organisms, only chemical components that trigger the human body to produce antibodies against COVID-19.
We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
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Sources
Facebook post, Oct. 11, 2021
GT, Western Sweden’s Evening Newspaper: The scam doctor continues, Sep. 15, 2008
Häsoliv, Here the scam doctor "cures" cancer with horseradish, Apr. 6, 2006
Reddit, Dr. Erik Enby Reviews the Pfizer "Vaccine" Under the Microscope, Sept. 28, 2021
PolitiFact, No, this isn’t a picture of a parasite in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Oct. 13, 2021
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Appendix C: Ingredients included in COVID-19 vaccines, accessed Oct. 14, 2021
Email interview with Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Oct. 13, 2021
Email interview with Kit Longley, spokesperson for Pfizer Global Media Relations, Oct. 13, 2021
Email interview with Volken Mai, associate professor in the department of epidemiology at the University of Florida, Oct. 13, 2021
Email interview with Bobbi Pritt, microbiologist and pathologist for the Mayo Clinic, Oct. 13, 2021