Senate subcommittee amends S.343 to require warning that Pfizer‑BioNTech COVID‑19 vaccine "may" contain DNA fragments

Senate subcommittee amends S.343 to require warning that Pfizer‑BioNTech COVID‑19 vaccine "may" contain DNA fragments

The South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs Subcommittee advanced Senate Bill 343 after adopting an amendment that changes the bill's language from saying the Pfizer‑BioNTech COVID‑19 vaccine "is contaminated" to saying it "may be contaminated," and adds a line that the contamination "may be hazardous to your health." The measure would also require verbal notice to vaccine recipients and a signed written acknowledgment.

The change narrowed the bill's original, definitive wording and was adopted by the panel before testimony. Supporters said the amendment preserves the subcommittee's goal of informing patients while softening absolute claims; opponents said even the softened language would mislead patients and undermine public‑health efforts.

Senator Corbin, the bill's sponsor, said the measure is intended to inform constituents: "because the vaccine is, an indemnified product ... has no liability against it from the drug companies or anyone else, I thought it was prudent of us just to inform our constituents that the contamination was in there." Corbin told the committee he had an amendment to change the language to "may be contaminated" and to use the term "novel" instead of "new." The subcommittee voted to adopt that amendment.

Dr. Elizabeth Mack, a pediatric critical care physician and immediate past president of the South Carolina chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, testified in opposition to S.343. Mack told the panel that describing trace plasmid DNA fragments as "contaminated" is "not medically accurate." She said the fragments are a known byproduct of mRNA vaccine manufacturing, are nonfunctional and nonreplicating, and that "regulatory agencies, including the FDA, have reviewed and approved the manufacturing processes and components that are used here." Mack also said mRNA vaccines do not enter the cell nucleus and therefore cannot alter DNA. She warned that the bill's wording could be "misleading and harmful to public‑health efforts."

Committee discussion recorded that the amendment replaced two clauses: it changed the statement that the vaccine "is contaminated" to "may be contaminated" and replaced the term "new vaccine" with "novel vaccine," mirroring definitions used in related legislation. The sponsors also proposed adding language that the contamination "may be hazardous to your health," modeled on other public‑warning phrasing.

The panel heard limited public testimony: the only witness listed to speak on the bill was Dr. Mack. Committee members repeatedly asked about peer review and evidence tying the trace fragments to harm; Mack and members disagreed over the meaning and strength of available studies and testing. Mack emphasized that peer‑reviewed literature supports the vaccines' safety profile and their role in preventing hospitalization and death.

The subcommittee adopted the amendment by voice vote and then moved on to a final committee vote on the bill. The record shows an affirmative vote with at least one recorded no vote by Senator Wright Matthews; the transcript identifies Matthews as voting against the bill while remaining in favor of the amendment.

The measure was advanced out of the subcommittee with the adopted amendment; the transcript does not record the final roll‑call tally for every member or the bill's subsequent status in the full Senate.

The committee schedule lists related items (a House bill and a regulatory package) later in the meeting.