False: The COVID-19 vaccine will alter our genome, changing the way we live and who we are.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines will alter our genome, not even the ones that use mRNA technology.Some COVID-19 vaccines use messenger RNA technology, otherwise known as mRNA. This is different from the technology other vaccines use. Typically, when we get a vaccine, we are injected with a small, weakened amount of the relevant virus, our bodies fight this off, and we develop an immune response. mRNA vaccines work differently. According to the Center for Disease Control, “COVID-19 mRNA vaccines give instructions for our cells to make a harmless piece of what is called the ‘spike protein.’ The spike protein is found on the surface of the virus that causes COVID-19.” The science behind mRNA vaccines is not new. In fact, researchers have been studying the technology for decades. Regardless, there has been a considerable amount of misinformation and disinformation—and consequent distrust—surrounding mRNA technology. Many people have been confusing mRNA with DNA, and have made baseless claims about the technology. Among these people is Carrie Madej—an alternative medicine practitioner. In a viral video, Madej states that COVID-19 mRNA vaccines will change our genomes, our lives, and who we are. She does not expand on these points but instead goes on in a meandering fashion about Bill Gates, eugenics, and the 1999 American sci-fi movie, the Matrix. In any case, Carrie Madej’s assertion about mRNA vaccines changing our DNA is simply incorrect. The COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to a lot of potentially dangerous misinformation. For reliable advice on COVID-19 including symptoms, prevention and available treatment, please refer to the World Health Organisation or your national healthcare authority.