A White House correspondent for a pro-Trump website, Newsmax, told her 264,000 followers on Twitter to "beware" the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Emerald Robinson claimed in the Tweet: "It tampers with your DNA." The BBC asked three independent scientists about this. They said that the coronavirus vaccine would not alter human DNA.
It appears the people spreading such claims have a fundamental misunderstanding of genetics. The vaccine contains a fragment of the virus's genetic material - or RNA. "Injecting RNA into a person doesn't do anything to the DNA of a human cell," said Prof Jeffrey Almond of Oxford University.
Part of the misunderstanding seems to stem from the type of vaccine being developed. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA, or "mRNA", technology.
It works by giving the body instructions to produce a protein which is present on the surface of the coronavirus. The immune system then learns to recognise and produce antibodies against the protein.
Ms Robinson's tweet included the assertion that mRNA vaccine technology "has never been tested or approved before". It is true that no mRNA vaccine has been approved before, but multiple studies of mRNA vaccines in humans have taken place over the last few years. Prof Almond says that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is the first to show the efficacy that would be needed in order to be considered for licensing.
Side-effects claimsAnother claim in Ms Robinson's tweet was among the most widely shared anti-vaccine themes this week. She claimed 75% of vaccine trial volunteers had experienced side-effects. But Pfizer and BioNTech have reported no serious safety concerns in their trial. Many vaccines do have side-effects. But the vast majority are not nearly as scary as anti-vaccine activists would have us believe.
Prof Ward pointed out that these kinds of side-effects are also experienced by a high number of people receiving the annual flu vaccination. The side-effects are usually mild, wear off after a couple of days at most, and can be alleviated with paracetamol or ibuprofen.
Full data about side-effects has not yet been published for the most recent phase of the trial, but Pfizer has confirmed they observed no serious side-effects.For full information about thisBBC News - Vaccine rumours debunked: Microchips, 'altered DNA' and more
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/54893437