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ACAM2000

This vaccine protects against smallpox

Ingredients:

Active ingredients:

The active ingredient in this vaccine is live vaccinia virus, which is a relative of smallpox that is less harmful and provides protection against smallpox. This vaccine is given in a 0.0025 mL dose

Inactive ingredients:
Amounts are based on a 0.0025 mL dose

Salts: help maintain the stability and pH of the vaccine

Antibiotics: prevent contamination during manufacturing
Exact amounts of these ingredients were not given, so the comparison is using the entire mass of the vaccine, which is likely much larger than the actual amounts of these ingredients. To calculate the approximate total mass, the density was assumed to be approximately equal to water because 1 gram of water equals 1 mL. As a result, the 0.0025 mL vaccine dose would weigh 0.0025 grams. 

Other:

Relevant Terms:

  • Antibiotics: substances that kill bacteria or prevent them from dividing. Antibiotics are used in some vaccines to prevent contamination during the manufacturing process.

  • Molarity: It is defined as the moles of a substance in a liter of water. A mole is a standard unit in chemistry defined as 6.022*10^23 molecules of a substance.

  • 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.

Relevant Terms

Sources

Last updated: July 10, 2024

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