How true are the rumors about DNA modification and Corona vaccine side effects?

News of a vaccine that has been shown in clinical trials to protect 90% of people from contracting Covid-19 has sparked a wave of anti-vaccine rumors on social media.

We have examined a number of popular bogus claims relating to alleged schemes for implanting electronic chips into people’s bodies, alleged re-engineering of our genetic code, and others regarding vaccine safety.

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Bill Gates and the claims of the slidesaFor electronics

Bill Gates’s name went viral on Twitter this week after the vaccine was announced.

The billionaire and founder of Microsoft has been at the center of many false allegations since the outbreak of the pandemic. He was targeted due to his philanthropic work in the public health sectors and vaccine development efforts.

Among the most widespread allegations this week, the one that circulated earlier this year, is that the Corona outbreak is a cover for a plan to implant microchips that can be tracked inside people’s bodies, and that behind it all is Bill Gates.

There is no evidence to support these allegations and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has confirmed to the BBC that they are not true.

Although there is no evidence, a YouGov poll of 1,640 people in May revealed that 28% of Americans believe Gates wants to use vaccines to implant electronic chips inside people’s bodies, while the percentage rises to 44% among the Republicans.

DNA “modified” allegations

The Newmax reporter, loyal to US President Donald Trump, advised her 264,000 Twitter followers to “beware” of the vaccine developed by Pfizer and Biontech.

In his tweet, Emerald Robinson said the vaccine “messes up the DNA”.

The fear of changing DNA in one way or another was something we regularly noticed in Facebook posts.

The BBC asked three independent scientists, who said the Coronavirus vaccine would not change human DNA.

And those who make the claims seem to have a basic misunderstanding of genetics.

The vaccine contains some of the RNA (RNA) genetic material of the virus.

Professor Geoffrey Almond, a professor at the University of Oxford, says: “Injecting RNA (for the virus) into a person does not affect the DNA of a human cell.”

Speaking for Pfizer, Andrew Wedger, said the vaccine made by the company “does not change the DNA sequence of the human body. It only gives the body instructions to build immunity.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve looked at allegations that a coronavirus vaccine tampered with DNA. We studied a popular video that released that theory in May.

Part of the misunderstanding seems to stem from the type of vaccine being developed.

The Pfizer / Biontech vaccine uses messenger RNA (messenger RNA) technology. It works by giving the body instructions to make a protein similar to the one found on the surface of the Corona virus.

The immune system then learns to recognize it and makes antibodies against it.

Robinson’s tweet included a statement that the vaccine based on nucleic acid messaging technology “has not been tested or approved before.”

It is true that the use of a vaccine based on messenger DNA technology has not been approved before, but several human studies have been conducted for these vaccines in recent years.

Professor Almond says the Pfizer / Biontec vaccine is the first vaccine to demonstrate the efficacy required to consider licensing its production.

“Just because it’s a new technology doesn’t mean we should be afraid of it,” he adds.

The new vaccines undergo stringent safety tests before being recommended for widespread use.

In the first and second phase of clinical trials, vaccines are tested on a small number of volunteers to verify their safety and determine the correct dose.

And in the third phase, it is tested on thousands of people to see how effective it is.

The group that received the vaccine and the group that received a placebo vaccine are closely monitored for any negative reactions or side effects. The safety monitoring process continues even after the vaccine has been authorized.

Claire Wardle – who prepared a recent report on vaccine myths on social media – says there is a “data deficit” on topics like messenger RNA technology, and this occurs when the demand for information increases and the amount of credible information decreases.

“This makes people vulnerable to disinformation rushing to fill the void,” he adds.

Claire Wardle is executive director of the First Draft charity, a charity against disinformation.

“While reliable information is struggling to meet demand, individual accounts and alternative media outlets have the potential to reduce trust in vaccines,” he says.

Allegations of side effects

Robinson’s tweet included another allegation that was among the most popular anti-vaccine topics this week.

He said 75% of the volunteers in the vaccine trial had side effects. However, Pfizer and Biontech did not report serious safety concerns during the trial.

There is no doubt that there are side effects of many vaccines, but most of them are not as scary as anti-vaccine activists promote.

“Like all vaccines, this vaccine can cause short-term symptoms, such as stinging pain, high fever, body aches, headaches and fatigue,” said Dr. Penny Ward, visiting professor of pharmacological medicine at Kings College. from London.

Professor Ward noted that these are the same side effects that many of those who get the annual flu shot get.

These side effects are often mild and disappear after a maximum of two days and can be reduced by taking acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

It is not clear which Robinson this 75% came from, but it may have been selectively chosen by the rate of mild side effects in a certain age group at the start of the experiment.

Full data on the side effects from the latest phase of the trial have not yet been published, but Pfizer has confirmed that it has not registered any serious symptoms.

The BBC reached out to Emerald Robinson for comment and she, in turn, backed up his claims.

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