Q: I've heard some theories circulating about the COVID-19 vaccine, including that it was developed to control the general population through microchip tracking or "nanotransducers" in our brains. I've also heard that it will alter my DNA. Are these theories true?

A: No, those assertions are false.

"There is absolutely not a microchip in the vaccine," says Martin Herrmann, M.D., medical director of Mayo Clinic Health System in Waseca and New Prague. "Also, there's no way for the vaccine to track people or gather personal information on a person."

This myth started after comments made by Bill Gates from The Gates Foundation about a digital certificate of vaccine records.

The technology he was referencing is not a microchip, has not been implemented in any manner and is not tied to the development, testing or distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

As for the altered DNA theory, the first COVID-19 vaccines to reach the market were messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines. According to the CDC, mRNA vaccines work by instructing cells in the body how to make a protein that triggers an immune response.

Injecting mRNA into your body will not interact or do anything to the DNA of your cells. Human cells break down and get rid of the mRNA soon after they have finished using the instructions.

Mayo Clinic Health System consists of clinics, hospitals and other facilities that serve the health care needs of people in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. The community-based providers, paired with the resources and expertise of Mayo Clinic, enable patients in the region to receive highest-quality physical and virtual health care close to home.

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Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date. 

For more information and all your COVID-19 coverage, go to the Mayo Clinic News Network and mayoclinic.org.

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