Getting vaccinated! For you. For me. For everybody.

Worries like these sound reasonable. After all, mRNA and DNA are very similar terms.

But:

There is no discernible risk of mRNA becoming integrated into the human genome.

In humans, the genome is in the form of DNA in the cell nucleus. It is not possible for RNA to integrate into DNA because the chemical structure is different, for example. There is also no evidence that the mRNA integrated by the body’s cells after a vaccination will be converted into DNA.

There are several reasons for this:

• It’s not actually all that new. A lot of research had already been done on developing vaccines against SARS and MERS-CoVK.
• Work on vaccines was being done simultaneously all over the world.
• Studies, research and tests on safety and efficacy were not carried out one after the other, as is usually the case, but also simultaneously.
• Approval was fast because all interim results were forwarded to the regulatory authorities. Everyone was always up to speed.
• Everything was focused on developing a vaccine. The German government, the European Commission and research foundations operating worldwide also gave financial support, which made it possible to produce the vaccines even before they were approved.

However, the same principle applies to COVID-19 vaccines as to all other new vaccines – it is not possible to record every potential or very rare side effects at the time of approval. This is why vaccines are continuously monitored for safety following approval. For example, one part of this monitoring procedure is to analyse suspected cases of side effects or vaccine complications at the Paul-Ehrlich-Institut (PEI). This means that any risks can be discovered in good time and the benefit-to-risk profiles of the vaccines can be updated regularly.

Find all the latest information on the safety and efficacy of the different vaccines here:

• Reporting a suspected adverse reaction to vaccination
• National Immunisation Steering Group (NaLI)

There is a great deal of fear around the subject of vaccination and the desire to have children. Does a Covid-19 vaccination make you infertile?

Vaccines are extensively tested before they are approved. There is no evidence that women could become infertile because of the vaccine.

Rumours circulated on social media that a Covid-19 vaccination could make women infertile because there are similarities between spike proteins of the coronavirus and the protein syncytin-1, which is responsible for the formation of the placenta. From this it was concluded: If the body of the vaccinated person forms antibodies against the spike protein of the coronavirus after vaccination, these are also directed against the syncytin-1 protein, interfering with the formation of a placenta. However, because the similarity between the two proteins is so minimal, a cross-reaction of the COVID-19 vaccine can be ruled out.

Even if corona antibodies could actually be directed against the syncytin-1 protein, this should have led to increased numbers of miscarriages or complications in COVID-19 cases due to the formation of antibodies – but this is not the case.

The fact that vaccination in pregnancy is not (yet) recommended supposedly feeds the concern that vaccination could make people infertile. BioNTech has already started a global study in 4,000 pregnant women. The Ständige Impfkommision (STIKO) is closely monitoring this study.

Mutated versions of the coronavirus first detected in Great Britain and South Africa have also been found in Germany. Do the vaccines also protect against this mutated variant?

Yes. Studies were able to quickly give the all-clear – the vaccines also work on mutated variants. Initial findings, however, indicate that the protection is lower. Manufacturers can quickly adapt mRNA-based vaccines to cope with mutations. The vaccine can be replaced and modified within six weeks. This is also possible with vector-based vaccines. However, these need a longer period of modification. Changes in the virus does not mean the vaccine is less effective.

You can find more information on “How dangerous are Covid-19 mutations?” here:

• Website Together against Corona