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Monday, Mar. 4, 2024

Are COVID-19 vaccines gene therapy?

Tom Kertscher, Wisconsin Watch
no

Gene therapy modifies a person’s genes to treat disease, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Richard Watanabe, physiology and neuroscience professor at the University of Southern California medical school, said the COVID-19 vaccines do not alter human genes or insert modified genes.

The vaccines do not enter the nucleus of the cell where DNA is located, so they cannot influence genes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

At a Feb. 26, 2023, roundtable hosted by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Dr. Robert Malone made the gene therapy claim.

The scientist cited to Wisconsin Watch remarks by Bayer AG pharmaceuticals executive Stefan Oelrich. A Bayer spokesperson told Full Fact that Oelrich misspoke and the vaccines aren’t gene therapy.

The New York Times and Washington Post have identified Malone as a prominent purveyor of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation.

Fact-checkers have repeatedly debunked the gene therapy claims.

See a full discussion of this at Wisconsin Watch

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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