Q&A of the Day – Is Florida’s Concern Over COVID-19 Vaccine DNA Contamination Justified?
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Today’s Entry: Brian, two questions for you about the COVID-19 vaccines. First- almost all reporting on Lapapo’s rec calls his claims of DNA contamination debunked. Is that true? Second- haven't most Floridians been vaccinated at some point anyway? Meaning that if people are at risk from DNA contamination isn’t it a little late?
Bottom Line: Dr. Joseph Ladapo’s latest break with federal officials over COVID-19 vaccines has certainly gained a lot of attention. Whether it’s the New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press or even The Hill, the reporting has universally included the statement that what Ladapo is suggesting has already been debunked. Quoting the Hill:
- Florida’s surgeon general on Wednesday officially called for a halt “to the use of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines,” citing a discredited theory that has been debunked by federal and global health officials
- Florida’s top health official called for a halt to using mRNA coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday, contending that the shots could contaminate patients’ DNA — a claim that has been roundly debunked by public health experts, federal officials and the vaccine companies.
- Florida’s surgeon general on Wednesday called for a halt to the use of Covid vaccines, citing widely debunked concerns that contaminants in the vaccine can permanently integrate into human DNA.
There’s clearly a narrative with specific talking points in national news reporting about how to handle this story. Interestingly, here’s what not one of them provided in making those statements. Any source material which one would think would be easy to do given the characterizations that Ladapo’s claims have been “widely debunked”. The closest to one of these news outlets doing so came with the New York Times which linked to the FDA’s response to Ladapo in March of last year about a different set of concerns he’d raised. Interestingly in attempting to source this myself the first study I came to which specifically addresses potential DNA contamination was a published study from researchers in Ontario, Canada from last October. The study is entitled: DNA fragments detected in monovalent and bivalent Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna modRNA COVID-19 vaccines from Ontario, Canada: Exploratory dose response relationship with serious adverse events. In the conclusion it states:
- These data demonstrate the presence of billions to hundreds of billions of DNA molecules per dose in the modRNA COVID-19 products tested. We urge that our work is replicated under forensic conditions and that guidelines be revised to account for highly efficient DNA transfection and cumulative dosing. This work highlights the need for regulators and industry to adhere to the precautionary principle, and provide sufficient and transparent evidence that products are safe and effective.
What I didn’t find was any study, before or since, that contradicts these findings. In fact the only other medical journal I found related information in was an article in the winter issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Quoting the article: Although manufacturers and regulators assert that any leftovers of plasmid DNA are biologically inert, there are plausible mechanisms for unwanted effects when DNA fragments are transfected (i.e., introduced into eucaryotic cells) during the vaccination process. Those adverse effects may occur mainly via DNA integration into and hence modification of the genomes of the transfected cells. This possibility is enhanced when those DNA fragments are packaged in lipid nanoparticles, along with the mRNA particles. Compared with accidentally encountered free strings of DNA, those peculiar DNA contaminants may have enhanced persistence and increased transfection efficiency.
That’s almost verbatim what Dr. Ladapo stated in his original note to the FDA and CDC. So, here’s the scorecard. One recent study which entirely supports Dr. Ladapo’s concerns and a separate medical journal likewise reporting that DNA contamination from the COVID-19 vaccines is real but also that it’s exacerbated by the mRNA process – which is also exactly what Dr. Ladapo has asserted. All of the publications which have reported “debunked claims” are demonstrably engaged in false reporting. I’m certainly not a scientist who can speak to the potential risks associated with DNA contamination from the vaccines, however Ladapo is correct that research points to these potential issues and that they’ve gone unaddressed by the manufactures of the vaccines and federal agencies.
As to your second question regarding the number of people who’ve had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine somewhere along the way...you’re right. It’s not just that most people have...it’s that the overwhelming majority have. Since the onset of the vaccine rollout in December of 2020, 81% of Floridians have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. That includes 82% of residents of Palm Beach County, 77% of residents in Martin County and 87% of residents of Indian River County. Does that mean that many of us have potentially had our DNA altered by the vaccines? I have no idea. And I suppose that’s part of the bigger point continually raised by Dr. Ladapo. Though these vaccines have been out for over three years there’s still a lot we don’t know about what they may do.