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FACT BRIEF

Is the CDC collecting DNA through COVID-19 test samples?

By Alexis Tereszcuk
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NO

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a tweet on Feb. 16, 2022 stating that if a person took a COVID-19 nose swab test there was "a 10% chance that it ended up in a lab for genomic sequencing analysis." 

The following day the CDC clarified that the testing is of the virus and not people's DNA. 

However, a misleading social media message was posted after the clarification and did not note the correction.

A CDC spokesperson confirmed to Lead Stories that "Last week, a CDC tweet regarding genomic sequencing led some people to believe that personal identifying information was included in samples processed in the sequencing program. That is not the case. Laboratories around the country examine viral sequences from positive samples which contain no personal identifying information."

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.