Little One asked
Does Shingrix contain any animal proteins or products? I have been very allergic to lanolin and animal dander.
At a glance
- Shingrix does not contain animal derived proteins according to the prescribing information for the vaccine. It also does not contain lanolin. It is however, manufactured using Chinese Hamster ovary cells and a small amount of protein and DNA from these cells are present in the vaccine. If you allergic to animal-derived proteins, it is considered safe to use unless you have an allergy to any other component of the vaccine.
Answer
Shingrix, the shingles (i.e. herpes zoster) vaccination recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), does not contain lanolin or animal proteins aside from the proteins contained in the cells used to culture the vaccine (more on this in the next section).
Part of the Shingrix vaccine is cultured using Chinese Hamster ovary cells so the manufacturing process does have an animal component to it. The vaccine, as administered, does contain host cell proteins (from the Chinese Hamster cells).
Nevertheless, it is considered safe to use if you have an allergy to animal proteins.
Shingrix Animal-Based Ingredients
The Shingrix vaccine consists of two components:
- Recombinant varicella-zoster virus surface glycoprotein E (gE) antigen (i.e. the herpes zoster antigen)
- AS01B adjuvant suspension
The varicella-zoster virus surface glycoprotein E (gE) antigen is the component which elicits the immune response in our bodies while the AS01B adjuvant suspension is designed to boost this immune response.
Neither component contains animal-derived proteins (aside from small, residual amounts from the cells used to culture the vaccine).
The prescribing information for the vaccine discusses this topic specifically:
References
- Shingrix Prescribing Information. GSKPro
