A popular Facebook post, written by an anonymous doctor, falsely claims that potassium chloride, which is an ingredient in some vaccines, is dangerous to some degree and that it could kill recipients or cause miscarriages. Potassium chloride in small amounts is safe and is administered intravenously to treat potassium depletion. Monitoring of people who have received vaccines for COVID-19 indicates that the vaccines are safe.
The report says: ‘A direct injection of ANY AMOUNT of potassium chloride (KCl) into the blood will in fact cause irregularities in the heart even in the healthiest people (palpitations and tachycardia) (because it causes disruptions in the sodium-potassium pumping mechanism essential for healthy heart function) – but in the elderly – even small amounts injected directly into the blood will often cause death. Any amount of KCl injected directly into the blood of a pregnant woman is also likely to cause a miscarriage. ”(Here).
Potassium levels vary within a range in human blood, and can cause serious medical problems if it rises or falls outside this range (here).
Potassium chloride, also called potassium salt or KCl, is a salt that is often used orally to increase potassium levels in the blood of people who have potassium deficiency and in severe cases are given intravenously (see p. 490 here).
In the case where enough potassium chloride is given that it raises the potassium levels in the blood above the safe range, it can cause death due to heart depression, arrhythmias or heart attacks (here).
The Modern COVID-19 vaccine does not use potassium chloride (here).
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine contains potassium chloride in its constituents, together with potassium dihydrogen phosphate, but these substances are present in very small doses. “This vaccine contains potassium, less than 1 mmol (39 mg) per dose, ie essentially ‘potassium-free’,” reads an information leaflet for the patient (pdf here).
By comparison, the amount of potassium in the blood varies from 3.6 to 5.2 millimoles (mmol) per liter (here). Adults have about 5-6 liters of blood in their body.
Reports that may indicate problems with the COVID-19 vaccines are being closely monitored, but the data after hundreds of millions of doses are consistent with trials that have shown that the vaccines are safe. Reuters wrote about how the number of deaths (here) and serious adverse effects (here) reported in people who received the vaccine did not differ significantly from what would be expected if.
VERDICT
Untrue. Although very high potassium levels in the bloodstream can cause medical problems, there is only a small amount of potassium in the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and none in the Moderna vaccine. Potassium chloride can be administered intravenously and in very controlled amounts it is a treatment for severe potassium deficiencies. Data from trials and COVID-19 vaccination of vaccines show that the vaccines are safe.
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