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Did the FDA redact a COVID-19 vaccine ingredient because it’s a mysterious substance?

By Marlo Lee
NO

When the Food and Drug Administration published a list of the ingredients that make up Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, one was redacted.

An FDA spokesperson told Lead Stories that if the company considers the ingredient a trade secret or a confidential commercial item, the ingredient gets redacted on documents that will be seen by the public. 

Then it said anyone interested in seeing the unredacted ingredient list could file a Freedom of Information Act request.

A little research found that the missing ingredient is salt water.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
European Medicines Agency Summary of product characteristics
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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