Social media reports have claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine is an ‘operating system’ designed to program humans and disrupt their biological functions. This is false.
Examples of this claim can be seen (here, here) and (here).
“HAVE YOU EVER ASKED WHY BILL, A SOFTWARE DEVELOPER, BECOMES THE EXPERT ON COVID-19?”, Reads the report (here). ‘BECAUSE THE COVID-19 BOSSEIN’S’ IS AN ‘OPERATING SYSTEM’ DESIGNED TO PROGRAM MAN AND HACK THEIR BIOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS. “
It is not true. These new vaccines are designed to elicit an immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the disease COVID-19.
On its website, the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which developed a COVID-19 vaccine, compares the mRNA science in its vaccine with an ‘operating system’ (here). The phrase is used in a metaphorical sense, not literally.
According to Moderna, mRNA science is comparable to an operating system because it can be used to tackle various diseases.
Recognizing the broad potential of mRNA science, we intend to create an mRNA technology platform that functions much like an operating system on a computer.
‘It’s designed to be interchangeable for different applications. In our case, the ‘app’ or ‘app’ is our mRNA – the unique mRNA sequence that encodes a protein. ‘
This is possible, Moderna explains, because the only thing that changes from one potential mRNA drug to another is the genetic code that instructs ribosomes to make proteins.
The Moderna vaccine works by inserting mRNA that tells human cells to produce a series of amino acids that make up a protein, such as the ‘spike protein’ found on the SARS-CoV-2 virus that COVID- 19 caused. The mRNA is then destroyed (here).
The goal is for the immune system to recognize and eliminate this protein, so that it is prepared to target the same structure to the virus if it encounters an intact SARS-CoV-2.
Reuters’ fact-checking has rejected the allegations that mRNA vaccines change one’s DNA (here).
VERDICT
Untrue. COVID-19 vaccines are designed to elicit an immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work here to check out social media posts.