Scientists have repeatedly refuted the claim that Covid-19 vaccines can alter a person's genome, but social media posts suggest DNA contamination in the injections could lead to harmful effects such as cancer. This is false; there is no evidence of significant amounts of genetic material in the shots -- and even if there were, experts say they could not alter cells.

The claims circulated after University of South Carolina biologist Phillip Buckhaults appeared before a state panel September 13, 2023 to discuss his research on messenger RNA (mRNA) Covid-19 vaccines.

"It's surprising that there's any DNA in there and you can kind of work out what it is and how it got there," Buckhaults said. "And I'm kind of alarmed about the possible consequences."

In a September 18 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, chiropractor Ben Tapper says: "In other words, this vaccine will forever change your DNA."

The post shares footage and a quoted excerpt from Buckhaults's testimony, including claims that DNA in the Covid-19 shots "could be causing some of the rare, but serious, side effects like death from cardiac arrest" and poses "a very real theoretical risk of future cancer in some people."

Screenshot of an X post taken October 2, 2023

Other claims from the panel have circulated in articles and on TikTok, Instagram and Facebook. Some repeat Buckhaults's claim that "there's probably about 200 billion pieces of this plasmid DNA in each dose of the vaccine."

Buckhaults did not cite any...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiLWh0dHBzOi8vZmFjdGNoZWNrLmFmcC5jb20v...