Can SARS-CoV-2 Insert its Genes Into Our Cells?

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

You’ve heard this one circulating. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can insert its genetic material permanently into your cells. Some people are even saying the mRNA vaccines do this.

So, let’s take a look at viral integration, how it works, and whether we need to worry about it.

How do Viruses Reproduce?

Viruses are parasites. They are essentially just DNA or RNA in a lipid envelope with no metabolism or other machinery to support life in the true sense. (Some researchers argue that this means viruses are not, in fact, alive, whilst others take issue with that concept. It’s an ongoing argument).

In order to reproduce, the virus has to enter a host cell. SARS-CoV-2 does this by piercing the cellular membrane with the spike protein we’ve heard so much about. Most viruses need a specific receptor to get in, in this case ACE2.

Once inside the cell, the virus sheds its lipid shell or capsid, then hijacks the cell’s mechanisms to reproduce itself.

It then either destroys the cell, sending new viruses in all directions, or it pushes its kids out through a kind of bud.

The ways in which viruses hijack cells vary too, so let’s talk about that.