evidence: No signs of DNA mutation or COVID-19 vaccine-induced cancer have been reported to date for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. This refutes claims made on September 12, 2023 during a Pandemic Preparedness Listening Session hosted by the Senate Medical Affairs. During the session, the Committee heard remarks pertaining to the Pfizer-BioNTech messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccine, incorrectly stating that the vaccine could potentially impact a person’s DNA and be a theoretical cancer risk. There is no evidence to support these claims. Specifically, these claims allude to SV40, which stands for Simian Virus 40, a naturally occurring DNA virus originating with monkeys. In the 1960s, some polio vaccines were found to be contaminated with infectious SV40 virus, exposing those receiving the contaminated vaccines to infectious virus. Infectious SV40 virus is not in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. To make the spike mRNA in the COVID-19 vaccine, plasmid DNA is used as a building block, or what is called starting material. Non-infectious fractions of a SV40 sequence are present in the starting material used by Pfizer and BioNTech. The DNA starting material does not contain oncogenes, which are genes that may have the potential to cause cancer. Many vaccines contain small amounts of DNA, otherwise known as residual DNA, for which regulatory authorities have established limits. As is required for all vaccines, the amount of residual DNA present in the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is within the amount permitted by standard regulatory guidance.