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Vaccine rumours debunked: Microchips, ‘altered DNA' and more

News of a vaccine which Slotxo prevented 90% of people from getting Covid-19 in clinical trials led to a surge of anti-vaccine rumours on social media.

We've looked into some of the most widely shared false claims: about alleged plots to put microchips into people, the supposed re-engineering of our genetic code, and about safety.

Bill Gates and microchip claims
Bill Gates was trending on Twitter this week following the vaccine announcement.

The billionaire founder of Microsoft has been the subject of many false rumours during the pandemic.

He's been targeted because of his philanthropic work in public health and vaccine development.

One of the most shared claims this week – one that has been circulating since early this year – is that the coronavirus pandemic is a cover for a plan to implant tiny trackable microchips in people and that Mr Gates is behind it all.

‘Altered DNA' claims
A White House correspondent for a pro-Trump website, Newsmax, told her 264,000 followers on Twitter to “beware” the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Emerald Robinson claimed in the Tweet: “It tampers with your DNA.”

The fear that a vaccine will somehow change your DNA is another one we've seen aired regularly on Facebook posts.

The BBC asked three independent scientists about this. They said that the coronavirus vaccine would not alter human DNA.

It appears the people spreading such claims have a fundamental misunderstanding of genetics.

The vaccine contains a fragment of the virus's genetic material – or RNA.

“Injecting RNA into a person doesn't do anything to the DNA of a human cell,” said Prof Jeffrey Almond of Oxford University.

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