Covid Myths: The Vaccine Does Not "Reprogram" Your DNA

August 17, 2021

mRNA vaccines are not “genetic”. They do not “reprogram” your DNA, they are not “gene therapy”. And no the CDC does not say they are gene therapy on their website. mRNA vaccines do not enter the nucleus of the cell (where the DNA is) and they do not interact with the DNA in any way. Their activity is on the ribosomes in the cytoplasm where the ribosome translates the message (hence the name messenger) to produce spike proteins that your immune system responds to by producing antibodies. That’s it. No genes, no reprogramming your DNA, no genetic therapy. You know what does “reprogram” your DNA? The fucking virus! It permanently inserts the genetic code that instructs your cells to replicate more and more virus. Permanently inserted into your DNA. That’s how viruses reproduce, by highjacking your DNA. And you know what stops them? Vaccines! The vaccines are not experimental and have an astonishing efficacy rate of up to 95%. The scientists who have produced them know exactly what’s in them, they are meticulously well researched, proven effective and far safer than traditional attenuated vaccines. You are lucky enough to be alive during one of the most profound moments in the history of science and it would be foolish and unconscionably selfish to not appreciate and take full advantage of that gift. Please feel free to copy and paste the above three paragraphs into your comments the next time you are confronted by one of these ridiculous misinformed self absorbed morons. Don’t forget to read the chapter on critical thinking in your textbook, remember to get your homework in on time and the quiz is on Thursday. Thank you for attending my TED talk. Edit: In the couple of days since I posted this it’s come to my attention that I got something wrong. The viral replication process I described, while true of most viruses, is not true for SARS CoV 2. Because it’s a tricky little bastard. This virus actually uses RNA to highjack the ribosomes to produce protein that is then sequestered in the endoplasmic reticulum where it highjacks the surface molecules to produce a double membrane that then uses the golgi apparatus to then move the newly replicated virus out of the cell and repeat the whole process over. I got it wrong by assuming something pretty simply, but remember; getting something wrong is always an opportunity to learn something new. Getting it wrong is good if you commit to always learning. The fix for bad science is always MORE SCIENCE! This process will be added to the quiz on Thursday for extra credit, an illustration describing the process will be posted in the comments below. Science!