Do COVID-19 vaccines affect our DNA?

No.

Research shows that the particles in Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines that contain the mRNA are absorbed quickly into the body cells after vaccination. The mRNA cannot penetrate into the nucleus of our cells and does not come into contact with our own DNA. Our own DNA is therefore not changed or damaged. Because of the vaccine, your body will produce antibodies that protect you against the coronavirus. The vaccines from AstraZeneca and Johnson and Johnson do not affect our DNA either.

Vaccine safety is one of the criteria used to assess whether a vaccine receives a marketing authorisation. Only when there is sufficient evidence that a vaccine is safe, a positive advice for the market authorization is given. The COVID-19 vaccines have to meet the same strict requirements as all other vaccines. Vaccine safety is carefully examined by the experts of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the FAMHP.