Does the mRNA portion of the vaccine affect my DNA or stay in my body?

No, the vaccine cannot affect your DNA. The vaccine contains mRNA encoding a single protein found in the SARS-CoV-2 virus. mRNA is a copy of your DNA that contains information that tells your cells how to build proteins. The vaccine cannot affect your DNA because:

1. Humans lack the ability to turn mRNA back into DNA or incorporate mRNA into DNA
2. Your DNA is stored inside the nucleus of your cell, and the mRNA in the vaccine is not able to interact with it
3. Finally, the mRNA present in the vaccine that is put into your cells breaks down quickly – typically within a few hours to a couple of days.