PHILIPSBURG:— The article which was published on Monday, January 25th on the online news platform Caribisch Netwerk, reports about the situation on Sint Maarten regarding the upcoming vaccination program. In this video, a remarkable comment was made by a local GP, saying that: “The Covid-19 vaccine changes your DNA structure”.
Professor Dr. A. J. Duits, who is a medical immunologist and the head of the Department of Immunology in Curacao, responds to these remarks to provide clarification and stop the spread of misinformation.
Prof. Dr. Duits: “First of all vaccines are the most effective and successful medical interventions in history (about 2-3 million lives saved yearly).
The first two vaccines that are used to fight the Covid-19 virus are RNA-based vaccines (from Pfizer/BioNTech & Moderna). These vaccines contain RNA (genetic information) for just one part of the Covid-19 virus which is called a spike protein.
After injection, this genetic information is used by the cellular machinery to make the viral protein (spike protein) and stimulate the immune system (without making the person sick). This way you’ll create effective protection against future infections by the virus itself. A vaccine therefore only simulates an infection without making us sick.
It is very important to distinguish, that the genetic information used (RNA) is different from our genetic codes that consist of DNA. Therefore, the viral genetic information in the vaccine can never become part of our genetic information. Interestingly when we get infected by the Covid-19 virus in a normal way, it’s also viral RNA that uses our cellular machinery. It can make us sick but will never become part of our genetic information.
The vaccine itself will disappear in a couple of days to weeks from our body. The only final effect is a stronger immune system ready to protect against infection by the virus itself.
The vaccine has been extensively tested (45 thousand persons) before being approved for use by all regulatory agencies and by now millions of people have safely taken it. Vaccination is not only of importance to protect yourself but also to protect the community.
Only by having sufficient persons vaccinated and protected, we can guarantee that the remaining persons cannot be infected, and the virus is not able to reintroduce itself.
Prof. dr. A.J. Duits
