They comprise of mRNA, which gives the body instructions on how to make proteins on the surface of the virus

4 Dec 2020 | Full Fact news
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FACT CHECK
RNA Covid-19 vaccines will not change your DNA

The first coronavirus vaccine will be rolled out in the UK from next week.

People are right to check the efficacy and safety of any new vaccine. But unsubstantiated claims and conspiracy theories risk prolonging the coronavirus pandemic and costing people their lives.

Contrary to claims, the new Pfizer vaccine will not alter people’s DNA ([link removed]) . Vaccines do not cause cancer ([link removed]) . And the UK government is not planning to roll out an untested vaccine ([link removed]) .

Fears about vaccines are not new. And research tells us that in times of crisis, we all find it much harder to process complex information. In these conditions conspiracy theories can flourish.

Amid the noise, you’ve chosen the facts. Thank you.

As this and other vaccines are rolled out around the world, you can rely on Full Fact to scrutinise claims, challenge damaging conspiracies, and get you the best possible information.

We will never ask you to take our word for it. We share our thinking and sources so you can make the best possible decisions about your own health.

But what we do ask is that you help us stand up for good information. Together we can help protect each other and help save lives in 2021.

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FACT CHECK
RNA Covid-19 vaccines will not change your DNA ([link removed])

A Facebook post has claimed that the Covid-19 vaccine is an RNA vaccine that will “actually change your DNA”.

Some of the 50 or so candidate Covid-19 vaccines are based on RNA technologies, but they do not change your DNA.

Conventional vaccines contain inactivated versions of whatever pathogen causes the disease, or proteins on its surface, to cause an immune response in the body which means it can fight the real infection later.

RNA vaccines instead contain what’s called messenger RNA (mRNA), a code that gives the body instructions on how to make proteins on the surface of the virus.

The body uses this mRNA to build its own copies of these proteins, which the immune system responds to by producing antibodies (which help the body fight real infection).

This introduction of mRNA into human cells does not change the DNA of the human cells. If these cells replicate, the mRNA would not be incorporated into the new cells’ genetic information.
This does not change the DNA of human cells ([link removed])
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FACT CHECK
FOI about a Yorkshire trust recording no Covid deaths is real, but lacks some context ([link removed])

We’ve been asked about posts on social media sharing a response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from the South West Yorkshire NHS Partnership Foundation Trust. In it, the trust says it has not recorded any deaths due to Covid-19.

This is a real FOI and the information is correct–but this is not to say that this part of Yorkshire has not experienced any Covid deaths.

This NHS trust would be unlikely to treat people seriously ill with Covid-19 because it provides disability, mental health and community services.

According to government data, the entire region of Yorkshire and the Humber, in which the trust is located, has recorded 5,012 deaths where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
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FACT CHECK
The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine will not infect your cells ([link removed])

A widely shared tweet claims that the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine isn’t a vaccine, but a “transfection agent”, kept alive so it can infect your cells and transfer genetic material. It cites the fact that the vaccine has to be stored at -80°C as evidence.

This particular vaccine does indeed have to be stored at around -70°C. But this is not because anything in it is “alive”, as the tweet claims.

It needs to be kept at lower temperatures to stop it from degrading.

The RNA in the vaccine is in no way “alive”. It is a small piece of genetic material that human cells can read and use to make proteins.

It’s not clear what exactly the post means by “transfection agent”. Transfection is a very general term for the process by which genetic material is introduced into cells, which in essence is what this RNA vaccine does.
Other vaccines have been stored at these temperatures ([link removed])
MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
* Is the UK's trade deal with Japan better than the EU's? ([link removed])
* Covid-19 is an infectious disease, and a video claiming it isn’t is wrong ([link removed]) [link removed]
* Telegraph wrong on Whitty and Vallance statements ([link removed])

Read our latest fact checks ([link removed])

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