Exceeding WHO limits poses a potent risk that the foreign DNA in the vaccines could penetrate into human cells.
A German professor who analyzed batches of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine found them to be contaminated by the presence of foreign DNA “well above” the approved limit.
Brigitte Konig, an external professor at the medical faculty of the University of Magdeburg, Germany, conducted an investigation into COVID-19 vaccines and found the doses had DNA contamination that were 83 to 354 times above the limit prescribed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“From my point of view, the alarming result is that all five batches had significant foreign DNA in them, which are well above the limit,” she said in a program broadcast by German TV station MDR on Dec. 12.
The WHO has mandated that DNA contamination in vaccines should not exceed 10 nanograms per dose. Beyond this limit, there is a risk that the foreign DNA will penetrate human cells.
The COVID-19 vaccines analyzed were manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech. Five batches were given to the Magdeburg laboratory by biologist Jurgen Kirchner following a suspicion of contamination.
Mr. Kirchner pointed out that when DNA contamination is found in a vaccine at a level as identified in Ms. Konig’s analysis, the law requires that the product be taken off the market.
In an email to the media outlet, U.S. researcher Philip Buckhaults claimed that it was not confirmed whether foreign DNA causes damage to human beings. However, a theoretical risk of genetic damage exists, he said.
Mr. Buckhaults found the presence of DNA residue in the Pfizer vaccine and explained the consequences of such contamination to the South Carolina Senate.
The responsibility for surveillance and ensuring the safety of vaccines in Germany falls on the Paul Ehrlich Institute.
When contacted by MDR and asked whether it had tested the vaccines for DNA contamination, the institute replied that parameters like residual DNA in the vaccines are only tested by the manufacturer. The institute does not conduct such tests.
