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By Julie Sladden & Julian Gillespie
\nBrownstone Institute<\/p>\n
In 1928 scientist Alexander Fleming returned to his laboratory after a 2-week holiday.\u00a0 A petri dish of bacteria accidentally left on the lab bench, somehow became cross-contaminated with Penicillium notatum<\/em> mould.\u00a0 Fleming noticed the mould inhibited the growth of the bacteria. This accidental discovery marked the dawn of the antibiotic era and a turning point in medical, and perhaps human history.<\/p>\n Recently, another accidental discovery has scientists wondering whether we have turned another corner in history.<\/p>\n The story begins with Kevin McKernan, a scientist with 25 years experience in the genomic field and a leading expert in sequencing methods for DNA and RNA. He has worked on the Human Genome Project and more recently in medicinal genomics involving DNA sequencing.<\/p>\n In the process of trying to sort out a sequencing problem, McKernan used anonymously sent, Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 bivalent vaccines to act as mRNA controls.<\/p>\n \u2018Somebody sent me these thinking, this is the perfect control\u2026 It should be pure. So, if you get this to work, you\u2019ll sort out your mRNA sequencing problems,\u2019 McKernan explains in a recent interview<\/a>.\u00a0 \u2018They were right about that. It did sort out our problems. But what we discovered in the process is that they weren\u2019t pure mRNA. They actually had a lot of DNA in the background.\u2019<\/p>\n McKernan was shocked, \u2018It\u2019s not what we were looking for\u2026 I had this hunch that the new modified nucleotides they have in the mRNA may have a higher error rate, and therefore we would see more mistakes in the mRNA. So, I knew we would have to sequence like a millionfold deep\u2026 over and over again to find these mistakes. When we did that DNA popped up and I thought \u201cOh, that\u2019s a bigger problem. We have to focus on that.\u201d \u2026 I kind of went into panic mode, realizing that I didn\u2019t budget any time to look into this, and the world has to know about it.\u2019<\/p>\n Let\u2019s pause here and look at what we\u2019re told about the Covid-19 mRNA injections.\u00a0 We\u2019re assured:<\/p>\n Let\u2019s look at that last one a little bit closer.<\/p>\n The Australian TGA states you can find reputable information about Covid-19 vaccines on their \u2018Is it true<\/a>\u2019 section of the website.\u00a0 It is worth a look.\u00a0 In answer to the question \u2018Can COVID-19 vaccines alter my DNA?\u2019 the TGA is clear: \u2018No, COVID-19 vaccines do not alter your DNA.\u2019<\/p>\n They explain<\/a>, \u2018mRNA vaccines use a synthetic genetic code called RNA to give our cells instructions about how to make the coronavirus\u2019 unique spike protein.\u00a0 When our body has made the protein encoded by the mRNA vaccine, it then recognises the spike protein as being foreign and launches an immune response against it.\u00a0 The RNA from the vaccine does not change or interact with our DNA in any way.\u2019<\/p>\n Phew.\u00a0 Well, that\u2019s ok then, right?<\/em><\/p>\n Possible routes for mRNA to convert to DNA (including a process known as reverse transcription) were discounted.\u00a0 Until the publication of an annoying little paper in 2022 by Alden et al<\/a>, an in vitro study involving human liver cells which showed Pfizer\u2019s mRNA was expressed as DNA within six hours.<\/p>\n At the time, this was assumed due to reverse transcription of the mRNA.\u00a0 However, in light of McKernan\u2019s discovery, there\u2019s a whole new possibility to consider.\u00a0 What if the vaccines already<\/em> contained DNA?\u00a0 Then arguments about whether the mRNA could reverse transcribe into DNA become irrelevant.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s return to McKernan and take a closer look at what he found.\u00a0 In addition to the expected<\/em> mRNA, he also found mRNA fragments, other pieces of RNA, and two forms of DNA: linearised and circular.\u00a0 The significance of the circular \u2013 or plasmid \u2013 DNA is important.\u00a0 The plasmid DNA is the \u2018complete recipe\u2019 used to program bacterial cells to mass produce the mRNA.\u00a0 This DNA should not be there.\u00a0 Further investigation by McKernan showed the plasmid DNA contained in the vaccines was indeed viable and capable of transformation<\/a> in bacterial cells.<\/p>\n So, the Pfizer and Moderna vials of bivalent vaccine that McKernan tested were contaminated with DNA.\u00a0 DNA encoding the spike gene and potentially<\/em> capable of inserting into the genome of an organism.<\/p>\n The question is, does this DNA have the potential to become part of the genome of a human<\/em> organism and if so what might be the consequences?\u00a0 This would have required looking at \u2018genotoxicity,\u2019 something Australia\u2019s TGA<\/a> says the (Pfizer) injections were not tested for, and the TGA did not ask for.<\/p>\n In case you are wondering, there are<\/em> strict guidelines about DNA contamination levels in mRNA products.\u00a0 The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and FDA stated limits are 330 nanograms of DNA per milligram of RNA. In Australia, the TGA<\/a> says it should be no more than 10 nanograms per dose<\/em>.<\/p>\n (It\u2019s unclear how these limits were decided. Personally, we\u2019d be hoping for zero DNA in our mRNA injections.)<\/p>\n This means that DNA should not be more than 0.033 per cent of the total nucleic acids in the dose.\u00a0 But McKernan\u2019s analysis demonstrated DNA contamination of up to 35 percent in the bivalent injection samples.\u00a0 This is up to 1,000 times higher than deemed to be \u2018acceptable\u2019 by the regulating authorities.<\/p>\n Next, McKernan analysed the monovalent (earlier) injections. The Pfizer monovalent injections were also found to be contaminated with DNA, though not as much.\u00a0 The levels of DNA in the Pfizer monovalent injections were 18-70 times higher than the EMA limit.<\/p>\n So, what happens now?<\/p>\n These results are in the process of being further verified by the scientific community.\u00a0 In the essence of speed, McKernan published his findings and methods publicly on Substack<\/a> and online<\/a>.\u00a0 <\/strong>He explains, \u2018The publication system, during the pandemic, is politicised. So, that\u2019s probably not going to get the word out very quickly. I had to do my best to document this all and make the data public.\u2019<\/p>\n If McKernan\u2019s findings are verified, the implications are serious. Widespread DNA contamination would bring into question the quality of the entire mRNA injection manufacturing process, safety systems, and regulatory oversight. In addition, DNA might not be the only contaminant.<\/p>\n This contamination discovery begs a question. What does Australia\u2019s Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) know about the safety of these mRNA<\/a> injections?\u00a0 And what discussions have occurred between the TGA and the OGTR regarding the safety of these injections?<\/p>\n\n